College Mew Mew
by Satashi
Summary: Ichigo is living a normal life in college, but when her powers start to manifest again, does it mean the earth is in trouble? Masaya x Ichigo (complete)
1. College Mew Mew? Let's try our best!

Waking up never was my strong point. Waking up early is even worse. I never understood why on my days off, I could wake up earlier than I normally do, and not go back to sleep. On days that I need to wake up on, however, I never could. This seemed to be one of those days.

**College Mew Mew**

**By:**

**Satashi**

I yawned as I rolled over and sat up on my bed. Sleepily I rub one hand over my eyes as my other stretches out into the air. I had an eight o'clock class this morning; World History. As I pad my way over to my bathroom, my mind slowly starts to make my body do its morning ritual of brushing teeth and combing hair. As I become more aware of things, my mood lightens from its sleep induced state and I begin to hum as I tie a ribbon over my pony tail holders.

It was an old hairstyle, the same one I had kept for years. Although I experimented with it at first, when I just entered college, I had reverted back to my normal hairstyle. Thinking back on it, it was amazing how fast time went by. I was already two months into college, and learning fast how to survive on my own.

I put on a light shade of lipstick as I think back on everything. I was in a dorm, living on campus. It was small, cramped, and I didn't have a roommate. I had a job at the school library, which I hated. School rules forbid freshmen to work anywhere but on campus. Of course there were enough jobs, but I didn't register fast enough, and got stuck with the left overs.

Grabbing my backpack, I dart out my door, realizing I was late. No surprise there. I had a habit of being late. Ever since High school I always seemed to get distracted someway or any other.

High School.

The few years of my life that were so messed up I had trouble even believing they happened. At the age of thirteen, I was given powers of the wildcat and told to fight aliens that were invading the planet. The battle lasted a long time, and the Mew Mews even became famous. After it was over, and Deep Blue was.....defeated.... I had given all my powers to Masaya, to keep him alive.

My ears and tail haven't come out in years, since that day at our pretend wedding. The other girls slowly lost their powers as well, as they were no longer needed. I don't mind it, really. As much as I loved being Mew Ichigo, Fighting everyday or so really wasn't my idea on how to spend my childhood.

My friends all went their separate ways one after another. Although we still keep in touch, it's hard to plan reunions with so many things going on. Zakuro is an even bigger movie star than before. Her modeling career went out after her second movie landed her a contract. Lettuce is in college too, on the other side of Tokyo. I see her every other week or so. Mint, amazingly, went to the same college as me. Although she lives at home, and doesn't work, she still somehow finds a way to be a snob whenever she can. She always was, but it was cute how she really cared deep down inside for all of us.

Pudding is in high school now and training hard in martial arts. She said she was going to be a champion of Female Martial Arts; F.M.A. She was also very popular in school, and has a very nice boyfriend. As for me, well, I am attending Tokyo University. The classes are hard, but the atmosphere is really nice, and the people are friendly, more or less.

Masaya came back from England a few years ago, after transferring to Tokyo University's U.M.A chapter when they first opened. Now he's the head of the division, and also the Save Our Planet club. He hasn't changed any in his time over seas. Our relationship? It's just as strong as ever.

I looked both ways before running across the crossing close to the building where most of the History classes were.

Masaya and me date regularly, but unfortunately, he is still as popular, if not more so with the ladies now than he was in high school. It's as if they almost refuse to believe he's taken and hunt after him anyway. Well, I don't mind really. I know he's faithful to me. After all we've been through? It'd take a hurricane to even shake my belief any.

I peek into the door to my classroom and wait for a chance to slip in. Although the professors didn't care if you went to class or not, I still felt bad when they gave me disapproving looks when you walk in late and distract the class.

Seeing my chance, I trot across the side of the room and take a seat in the back. A boy next to me smiles and holds up his book slightly to show me what page we were on. Nodding thanks, I take out my book and start flipping to the correct page. With a small twirl of my pen, I start taking notes on what the professor was talking about.

Time flows by and I soon find myself packing my books into my backpack when the teacher dismisses us, wishing all those on the track team good luck on the meeting this afternoon. Unfortunately, this made me even more nervous. I tried out for the team when Masaya was talking about joining the kendo club at the college. Actually, it was before college actually started. He had a scholarship for kendo, so of course he was going to join the team. After asking me what club I was going to join, I spontaneously picked up the nearest flyer and held it up. It just so happen to be the track team.

Although after the first meeting and trying out, I found myself liking it more and more as we went. Just running; trying to be fast. It made me feel alive and energized. The only bad thing was the try outs were over a while ago. I didn't make the team; I was one short of it. The girl ahead of me, however, had a car accident and broke her leg. I filled her spot. Because of this, some of the girls picked on me at first. A few of them really don't like me for some reason. Maybe it was because I was so cheerful all the time. Mint told me that sometimes it even annoyed _her_, and that was bad when she actually admits it.

Anyway, Today was the meeting that decided who would be on which string of the team. I knew I would be second string, because I wasn't as fast as the others, but I still was nervous about running.

"Hi, Ichigo."

Turning, I smile at the voice. Masaya was sitting on the rails looking over the track field. He had on a light jacket with jeans and a blue shirt. His smile radiated to me, instantly making my cheeks flush. Even after all this time, I still like his smile the best. "Morning." I ran over to him and smiled up at my boyfriend. "I thought you said you had chemistry this morning?"

"I do," He smiled again. "But I think I can miss one class, to cheer my kitten on."

A smile hits my face full force and I nod happily. "Un!"

"Ichigoooo!"

The voice belonged to my friend Samantha; she was also on the track team. "Haiiii! I'm coming!" I shouted over at her before returning my eyes to Masaya. "Let's go get lunch together later?"

"Of course." He nodded at me. "Now, go show them your best!"

"Hai!" I run over to the changing room, waving over my shoulder.

"Who is that boy over there?" A girl ask as we changed into our running cloths. "The one sitting on the rails?"

"Which one?" Another responds as she pulls down her shirt. "I saw two of them over there. One had black hair and the other looked green. Had freaky ears too. He was sitting at the very top of the bleachers."

"Ears?" I asked, leaning back to see them. "What kind?"

"Kind of like an elf or something." She motioned with her hands. "Kind of long. Long hair too. Had the sides of them tied with a string it seemed like. You know him?"

"Sounds....familiar... But I don't think so," I spoke slowly, trying to remember. I did know someone like that, but he wouldn't be here now. "But the other is Masaya, he's my boyfriend."

"Oh wow, that's him!?" another girl comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my neck, poking my cheek. "You must really be something special to land something like that!"

The girls laughed at my expense, but I found myself laughing too, despite myself.

A few minutes later I found myself in the starting point of the track. We would run the entire length this time. The first six people would be on first string, the last six would be second string.

Masaya is watching.

I set myself up like I had been taught, placing my feet firmly into the starting stands. Unconsciously I licked my lips and spared a glance at the ribbon with a bell on it tied to my wrist. Every year I got a new bell to wear. I had a little collection going for me now. This was my favorite, though. The first one I ever had. The ribbon it had broken so many times, I can only wear it as a bracelet now, but it was enough.

I can do this...I can...

Taking a deep breath through my nose, I feel a sudden strange feeling. Confidence. I knew how to run. I can run fast. Like the wind. Like a cat...

I didn't have time to wonder why I compared myself to a cat after all these years because the gun went off signaling the start of the run. My legs sprang out and I felt the ground as my feet hit it. My vision narrowed down to the two white lines that I had to run between. The air I breathed was long in and short out, filling my lungs as I forced myself onward.

But the girls around me started to pass. I was falling into the middle of the pack almost. That's when I saw it. A flash of something in the air, a man with green hair.

I didn't know what to think. I stumbled and tripped in my sudden confusion. The ground seemed to be moving slower to me than normal when I fell, though. It was...almost like I could catch myself in time if I wanted to. I reached out with a hand and pressed it against the ground. I had been running wrong all this time! It was so clear to me now!

I sprang again, two hands in front, legs behind. Once I stabilized myself, I found my position low and my feet barely tapping the ground. The wind went fast, I felt alive!

The finish line came quickly into my sight and I crossed it easily, not winded at all.  Slowing down, I glanced to my coach, who was looking at me in shock.

"Ichigo! You finished first!"

I did?

I did!

Masaya hopped down from the railing and ran over to me, laughing and smiling. As he enveloped me into a hug, I heard him call out his congratulations to me.

"I did it because you were here to help!" I replied, happily looking up into his eyes. "Thank you, Nya"

My world stopped. "Did I...Just say "nya"?"

Masaya smiled down at me. "Old habits die hard, ne, my little kitten?" he flicked my bell on my wrist, making it jingle.

Laughing, I forgot about what I saw today, it was just my imagination. The girls on my team were all celebrating together, and soon I was with them, calling out to Masaya that I would meet him in the cafeteria later.

Masaya watched Ichigo walk off with her friends and pressed his mouth in a thin line. "She ran....like a cat almost..."

Somewhere, in the sky, out of sight, a man smiled. "Still the same."


	2. A Reunion? Everyone's together again!

I never did like math. It never seemed to stop confusing me. Sometimes I could work a problem with full confidence, check it, and realize it was wrong. All the numbers never added up, and the problem would never be worked out correctly. At times it reminds me of my real life. I had problems too. Like how I was supposed to meet Masaya for lunch and I didn't have any money to pay with. On top of that, my stomach just growled at me, and the cute boy on the left is stifling a laugh…

**College Mew Mew 2**

**By: Satashi**

"Ichigo."

Masaya waved to me as I ran lightly up the stairs to the cafeteria door where he was waiting for me. "Mou." I had to catch my breath a little. "It's not fair. You're class is _right_ there!" I pointed to the building to the left of where we were standing. "I have to run all the way across campus!"

He smiled. "I don't mind waiting."

With a small sigh mixed with a laugh, I agree with him and take his hand before walking through the doors. "What are you going to eat today?"

"I think I'll go Mexican. I could really go for a taco right now." He gave me a tray. "And you?"

Suddenly I wanted fish. "I'll get some catfish, and some milk. Wow, I didn't realize, I'm really thirsty. I didn't drink anything after track practice! Oh!" Blushing, I look down. "I don't have enough for a drink too."

"It's okay."

Before I could ask or react, I find a one thousand yen bill on my tray, and he was already on his way to wait in line. "Mou…" But I still smiled. "Thank you, Masaya." I turned and walked over to my line and waited semi-patiently for the people to get their food. While I waited, the back of my neck started to itch. I had one of those feelings like some one was watching me. Turning, I looked out one of the windows on the ceiling, catching a small blur move, but nothing important.

"Miss?"

"Oh! Sorry." I bowed lightly to the person behind the counter. "Um, I'd like some fish," I pointed at what I wanted, even though I just said it. I somehow developed a bad habit of moving my hands while speaking lately. "And some fries, and…Some baked fish too…"

"Like Fish, don't you?"

"I guess I do," I replied, just realizing that I normally didn't eat it as much as I used to back in high school. After saying a quick thanks, I made my way over to the beverages and got myself a large glass of milk. Then, after paying out, I walked to the table that we always sat at. For once, I made it there before him.

I sat my backpack on the back of the chair and placed my purse onto the seat part of it. Not a moment later, my boyfriend plops down his plate and sits down, crossing his legs. "So, you did really well today at track! I'm really impressed."

"Nya-ha!" My hand found its way to my face, covering my laugh. "I was too, to be honest." I smiled. "I never knew I could run that fast. Half way through, after I stumbled, I suddenly remembered how to run properly, as if I had been doing it wrong all this time. Weird, isn't it?"

He had a French fry in his mouth, stolen from my plate, with his face paused in thought. Swallowing, he shrugged it off. "I think the only weird thing is your lunch, my kitty. If you eat fried food with that much milk, it'll make your stomach ache later."

"Think so?" I looked at my plate.

"Yeah," He nodded.

"I'll risk it," I speared a piece of fish and placed it in my mouth, chewed and swallowed. Then I took a large drink of milk before sticking my tongue out at him. "I feel fine."

Masaya rested his cheek onto his palm, which was propped onto the table. He did that a lot, just watching me eat. At first I was shy about it, but then I noticed that my other friends did it too sometimes. Apparently I like eating, so I smile a lot while doing it. Good thing I exercised a lot. I may have put on the freshman fifteen that most everyone else gets.

That feeling again. "Nya?" I turn and glance at the nearest window, but again I find nothing wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"I felt like…someone was watching me."

"I am." He smiled in his own special, mischievous way. "You're a cute little Kitten today, aren't you?"

I could feel my cheeks burning. "I…don't think so."

"You are. You're even meowing a lot recently."

My eating slows down. "I…thought so too. It's almost as if…No, it can't be…" My words start to trail into a whisper. "I gave all my powers to you… I don't have any wildcat inside me anymore…"

Masaya's face turned to one of sympathy. "Hey… Don't talk like that. Your DNA is merged with the genes from the animal. You'll always have them. As for your powers…" he touched his heart. "Your love is all I need to keep me alive." Reaching out, he took my hand in his. "It's not the Mew Mew power you gave me. That's yours, always will be. The only thing I need is your hand in mine…"

Oh wow.

"Ma-Masaya…" I didn't know what to say. My heart was beating quickly. I wanted the moment to last, but a twitching feeling behind me made my head jerk to look at my backside. It was almost like I felt something soft and furry…

"Ichigo?"

He was worried about me. "Sorry," I flushed and squeezed his hand, giving it a small peck. "I thought there was a bug or something on me." Exhaling, I place my now free hand on my chest. "I'm such a girl sometimes…"

"He he. Wouldn't have it any other way. Come now, eat up. I have something I want to talk with you about."

"Hmm?" blinking, I slowly chew my food. "What about."

"I've been chosen to represent the Animal's club for the trip to England."

"Ehhhh!?" I almost dropped my fork. "You're going back!?"

"No, no!" Masaya waved his hands frantically, trying to calm me. "I'm only going to be gone for two weeks, three at most."

"But…What about classes?"

What about me?

"I have all my assignments already. I'm going to do them over there." His smile was uneasy. "If you don't want me to go…"

"Oh, no!" My hands shot up to my face. "I didn't mean it like that. Oh course you can go. I mean, you have friends over there. I'm sure you want to see them again."

"Oh, good. I was worried you wouldn't want me to." His smile was full again. "But you're right. I was chosen because I did a study over in England for a long time." A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "And I'm the only one that can speak English."

Not being able to help laughing, I agreed with him happily. "It's true." My attention was turned back to my food when my stomach growled at me again. "When are you leaving?"

"Five days."

"Aw, that's it?" I was pouting.

"Sorry." He winked. "I just found out yesterday."

My pillow smacked me in my face as I collapsed onto my bed. "Hmmmmm…." So far it was an eventful day, and I had gone from excited to depressed, and all over again. Luckily I didn't have to go to work tonight. Sighing, I debated just falling asleep right then and there, but my cell phone rang, making me get up.

"Not asleep already are you?" The voice asked. It was Levina, a girl I met my first day in my Japanese Literature class. "It's only Eight o'clock!"

"Mou, I'm not _that_ lazy on Fridays," was my comeback. "I am a little tired, had a long day."

"So you don't want to go to the grand opening of the new café with me tomorrow?"

"Which one?" I didn't really feel like going.

"The one on campus. It's on the west wing; you don't have any classes over there do you? Anyway, they say a famous movie star is going to be at the opening."

"Yay. Who is it?" I wasn't really interested. I was trying to plan out a date with Masaya tomorrow mentally.

"Fujiwara Zakuro!"

No way!

"Are you serious?!"

Levina laughed. "I knew you'd be interested. You love that actor, I can tell. You waited several hours to get the first ticket to her latest movie, didn't you?" a small pause. "Ichigo? Hello? Are you there?"

Zakuro. I haven't seen her in almost a year or so. She's been so busy; I can only get in a few phone calls every month or two. Of course, we talked for hours each time, but to actually _see _her again! I had to go.

"Levina!" I could tell I scared her. "When is she getting there!?"

The crowd was nothing short of what I expected. There were people everywhere, all crowding behind red rope leading into the café. Unfortunately I had slept in that morning and was near the back of the crowd.

Taking the time to look around, I took in the view of the café. It was fairly large, with an outdoor seating area as well as an inside. Being on campus, it had that appeal to it that seemed to draw students to it. A large menu near the front displayed several items, ranging from the things that would make any teenage girl squeal, to coffees and drinks that guys would like while studying in the shade of a giant umbrella on a sunny day.

All in all, it reminded me of Keiichiro and Ryou, both of which I haven't talked to recently, which was weird considering I normally talked to them at least once every two weeks or so.

"There she is!"

Turning, I saw a limo pull up to the start of the roped off area. A moment later, she emerged. Zakuro. Still as beautiful as I remembered, and even more elegant looking. Even in a fashionable short sleeved shirt and a skirt, she still radiated a look that came with being a big star. Instantly she smiled and waved to everyone, walking slowly down the walk, stopping to shake hands with a few people along the way.

"Zakuroooooooo!" I jumped a bit, and waved frantically, but realized that the entire rest of the mob of people was doing the same thing. Blushing at that idea to get her attention, I tried another method of trying to push my way to the front. This only got me shoved farther to the back of the crowd. So far in fact, that I was at the very last row of people.

"Now what…?" I whispered, looking around. Acting on a sudden idea, I ran to the side of the crowd and over to her car, where I ducked under the ropes and ran over to her. I had almost managed to reach her when a large man wrapped his arm around my stomach and started to pull me back.

"You can wait in line if you wish to see her," He stated in a polite yet firm way. "Please do not go past the ropes."

"Zakuro! _Zakuro!_" She didn't seem to recognize my voice. I don't blame her; my cell phone didn't get the best of reception where I lived. What now? I don't want to wait to see her… "_Ribbon Zakuro Pure!_"

That did it. Instantly she turned and gasped, finally seeing me. "Hey, Hey! Let her go!"

"Phew." I was released and the man backed away, wondering what he had done wrong. "About time!" I yelled at her, smiling. "I was calling you forever!"

"Ichigo!" In a rare moment of spontaneous outburst, she ran over to me and we hugged each other tightly, laughing at nothing and everything. "I haven't seen you in ages! You're even prettier than in your pictures!"

Blushing. I knew I was. "Don't say that," I waved it off. "But you! Wow, what are you doing here? Can you stay for a long time?"

"Let's talk inside," She motioned me to follow her. "We're getting the fans all excited."

It was true. After I made it to her, it seemed like others were trying to do the same. "Oopsies."

Together we ran to the door and into the café, where we were greeted by two people I didn't expect to see. "Ryou! Keiichiro!"

"Ichigo!" They both replied at the same time. I hugged both in turn and then Zakuro again, who patted me on the head. She was still so much taller than me. "I can't believe we're all together again!"

"About time," A new voice came. Turning, I saw Mint sitting in a chair to the side, sipping some tea. "Why didn't you come in the back door?"

"What do you mean?"

"Idiot." Ryou thumped my nose. "Did you not get my mail?"

"Mail?" I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and opened up my messages.

"Ichigo, I'll meet you in front of the Union at seven thirty.  –Ryou."

"…Oh." I blushed and looked up at him, but smiled anyway. "How long did you wait?"

"About five minutes." He put his hands behind his head and looked away.

Zakuro put her arm around him and poked his cheek. "He waited for three hours."

"Shut up!" He moved away and crossed his arms, looking away from everyone.

"We've both been looking forward to seeing you again." Keiichiro stated, motioning for me to sit down with Mint and a reluctant Ryou. "Unfortunately, celebrations will have to wait until the grand opening is over. Zakuro, thanks again for this."

She was smiling, cheek on her palm. "I'm going to be in the neighborhood anyway. We're filming on site for my next movie. I'll be here for a few months."

"Really!?" Mint exclaimed, excited. "Wow, we can get Lettuce and Pudding to come too! It'll be a great way of everyone catching up!"

"Lettuce said she'll come by later tonight, she's out of town right now." Ryou spoke with a grin. "Pudding should be here sometime this afternoon."

"I bet you couldn't wait for everyone to meet up," Mint accused, with a gleam in her eye.

"Oh shush." He looked away again.

I couldn't believe this was happening. All of us together again, together, in one place. Just like old times. Keiichiro and Ryou are back with a new café, Mint and I in the same college as they set up in. Lettuce would come over daily, I'm sure. Zakuro said she would be here for months. Pudding would drop everything for a vacation here. She could make up and classes she missed in high school easily. She was such a bright cheerful girl.

"Ichigo?"

I sniffed, just realizing I was crying. "This is so great…" I spoke, tears of happiness trailing down my cheeks. "All of us…"

Without a word, everyone came to me and we shared a group hug. "To old times," Someone spoke in the hug. "And to many more memories."

"Welcome to the café!" I greeted cheerfully. "Zakuro-san will be signing autographs for anyone who stays and enjoys some of our cakes and drinks; may I lead you to a table?" I had repeated the same line for hours now. I hadn't been there ten minutes before I was shoved in a cute outfit with a short skirt and stockings. It wasn't as frilly as my old café outfit, but still drew attention. Mainly from the male attendants.

As I guided the new group to a chair, I easily spouted off today's specials and offered menus. Amazingly I took to this rather well, remembering all the training and work I did in high school. I could still remember orders easily, and balance was no problem for me. Even Mint was back in action, taking today seriously, as it was the grand opening. Neither of us said we wanted to work there, but it was implied that we were now the staff as soon as we saw the uniforms. Red for me, Blue for Mint.

I was glad for the opportunity to work with them again, as I hated my job at the library. Considering this café _was _on campus, it was okay for me to have a job here. Plus the pay would be good, although I didn't know what I would be working for. Anything was better than the five thousand yen an hour at the library. Anything.

"Zakuro, the people on table four have been waiting a long time," I greeted as I entered the kitchen and sat down the dirty plates and took the new order onto my hands while putting a slip of paper onto the turn table so Keiichiro would know what to make next. "Mint, the people at table seven spilled their drink. Ryou, I need you to do the next three orders, some are about ready to leave and I'll have to get their change."

"Right." Ryou didn't hesitate putting on his apron and walking out to start taking orders. Even Mint nodded and went to work without complaint.

"You are still good at this," Keiichiro complimented as he whipped some kind of mixture. "I'm glad to have such help. We didn't have any employees this morning. Ryou was going to handle it all himself if we couldn't meet up with you and Mint-san."

Winking, I gave him a peace sign as I picked up the money clip and receipts. "Just remember that when I ask for an advance in pay." I heard him laugh as I walked back out into the café and smiled at the people talking to Zakuro.

"Looks busy."

Turning at the voice, I couldn't help but beam at the person in the door. Pudding stood there with a smile on her face, looking around. Her hair was long, and in a pony tail. Gone was the cute, almost pudgy childish face that everyone was used to seeing. She was almost seventeen now, and even prettier than the most popular girls at her school. "Maybe I should put on a performance!"

She hasn't changed at all. "Pudding!"

There was a quick reunion in the kitchen, exchanging hugs and fast compliments before she too was in a matching yellow outfit and taking orders outside, which was starting to fill up even more.

A sudden gasp and applause made me turn to look at the youngest of the group. She was balancing several plates on her arms and still somehow managing to walk and dance around people standing around to properly deposit the correct plates to the people who ordered them.

I couldn't stop smiling if I wanted to. Ryou, Keiichiro, Mint, Zakuro, Pudding…all that was left was Lettuce and we would be all together again. I would have to invite Masaya later as well, as soon as he was done preparing for his trip with his teachers. Today had happened so fast, and I still don't think it's caught up with me yet. Everything was just perfect.

"I didn't even get to drink my tea…" Mint sighed as she laid her head down on a table.

"I want to quit." Ryou agreed, leaning back. "I can't remember ever being this busy. If you girls hadn't shown up…"

"Here you go everyone." Keiichiro sat down large glasses of tea for everyone. "Here's to a good day at work."

"Is there one for me too?"

We all turned to the door at the voice. Lettuce stood there, a smile on her face.

Everything burst together all at once. Laughing, hugging, several stories all going at the same time. Nothing seemed to slow down for several hours. It was almost if no time had passed since we were all in high school, working at a cute café while trying to listen about stories of strange happenings while doing so. Only now instead of talking about serious things such as the Mew Aqua's, we were all going on about how Zakuro's newest video was a hit, how Lettuce had landed a boyfriend, and how Pudding was going to start taking the bus here everyday after classes to work.

We were never in the same school, even back then. Lettuce was in a higher society school, Mint was in a prep school while Pudding was still in grade school and I was in the local establishment. Zakuro was a senior back then and already a rising star. Working together had kept us all in the same spot.

When Masaya went to England, and after our pretend wedding, Ryou went back to America. Zakuro had her movie contract.  Keiichiro tried hard to stay with us, but he too eventually left to pursue more skills as a scientist. The café closed down when we were in our sophomore year of school. I got another job at a grocery store to start saving for college. Mint had quit working altogether, and Pudding was taking care of her family. Little by little we had slowly started to break apart…

But now… we were a family again. Everyone agreed to work part time at the café. Mint, Lettuce, and I were going to work between classes, while Pudding would come after school. Zakuro wasn't required to be at the studio every day, so even she agreed to work during times the café would be short staffed.

Eventually the conversation turned to the Mew Mews. Promptly, cloths were shifted to show the markings. Everyone was cheerful about it, but somehow I felt a small twinge of pain in my heart. My marking disappeared after the final battle, when I gave my powers away.

"Of course, my powers have faded, but I'm still faster than anyone I know," Pudding was saying, with a smirk. "I can literally run circles around them."

"I can still jump high," Zakuro added in, with a wink. "And I still practice my whip."

"I can't fly anymore," Mint was saying, "But I'm as light as a feather on my feet."

"And I can hold my breath for over six minuets." Lettuce chimed in.

I felt everyone looking at me. "My ears haven't appeared in years," I spoke. My eyes were looking down. I didn't know how I felt about it all. I loved being a Mew Mew. I loved protecting people… but I almost lost my love during it. I suppose it left an impact on me that the other girls didn't get.  Ever since I had hated fighting. I couldn't even bring myself to argue with my parents over anything, scared I might lose them the way I almost lost Masaya. But that didn't matter right now.

"I can still smell things really good, nya." I grinned, making everyone laugh.

It was almost three A.M. before Everyone started to disperse into the night. I didn't have far to go to the dorms, so I said my goodbyes to everyone at the bus stop and started on my way back to my small place.

There it was again. That feeling.

My feet started to move faster, but the itching on the back of my neck only grew worse. Was someone stalking me? Gritting my teeth, I broke into a run, darting across the sidewalk as fast as I could.

"A fast one, aren't you?" a voice called, body suddenly appearing in front of me. Not being able to stop, I slammed right into him. The man, however, only glided backwards, as he was hovering in the air. Then, before I could react, arms went around me and I found lips pressed against mine.

My eyes were wide, staring deeply into the yellow slitted eyes of a green haired man with long ears. It took almost four full seconds before I pulled away and stumbled backwards. "Oh, careful there," The man said, gliding forward to help me recover my balance. When I didn't say anything, he looked hurt. "Don't tell me you forgotten me!?" He grinned, a single fang showing over his bottom lip. "My name is Kish….thanks for the kiss, Honey."

A/N: Woohoo! My first Tokyo Mew Mew review! Thanks a lot shaman queen lee! It means a lot to me. == I'll dedicate this chapter to you. Oh, I forgot to mention. Reviews make me write faster. More reviews=daily updates, around 7 pages (roughly 3,000 words). I know the story doesn't seem to be going anywhere besides a standard life, but don't worry, I just have to lay down a good foundation to get started on chapter 3 will be up tomorrow, and feel free to email me, I love making friends, nya!


	3. Kish Returns? The start of a new era!

"Kish!" This was not what I was expecting with a reunion today. He stood in the air, not three feet from me, smiling down as if he was on top of the world. "Wha… What are you doing here? You're supposed to be…I mean… You…"

**College Mew Mew 3**

**By: Satashi**

"You missed me?" He asked happily. "I can tell you did. Your kiss still taste like strawberries."

"It's the lip gloss that I- Kish, that isn't the point!" I took a few steps back. We made friends the moment they were defeated and left, even gave them a mew aqua to take back…Was he here to get more? Was he trying to get his planet back again? Was it a friendly trip?

"You seem angry," He suddenly dropped down to the ground. "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry, I know this is sudden and all, but I'm not going to fight you or anything."

"Why are you here?" My voice was a little scared. I didn't know to ask him how he was, catch up with him, or run for my life.

"A visit."

Oh….oh! "So you're…not going to try and destroy my planet or anything?"

He sniffed, looking around. We were still on campus, so there were plenty of trees and flowers around. I knew he didn't like the city too much. "No, _I'm _not going to destroy your planet. I just…came to say, 'hi' is all." His gaze met mine. "Really!" he added when I looked skeptical. "Geeze, you try to wipe out all humanity one time, and you never live it down…"

So that was it. My lips turn to a smile, and then a small laugh came, followed by a giggle. "You haven't changed. Still so carefree."

Kish looked a little reluctant a moment before smiling again. "Can I see where you live?"

"And have you molest me every night of your stay here? I think not!"

"Oi!" He started to float next to me as I walked. "Come on, I don't have a place to stay. We have to catch up."

"You can't stay with me; they won't allow boys into the dormitory." I pointed at his clothing. "Especially half naked ones."

Kish's eyes followed my finger to his sagging pants and vest. "What? This is the standard attire where I come from. You know, it's hot there." He looked around as he followed me. "It seems to be starting to cool off around here. Is it time for snow?"

"It won't snow for a while," was my response. "It's just now getting to the point where we need to start wearing warmer clothing."

"Aw, I always liked snow."

He was still following me. "Kish, it's good to see you and all, but you really, really can't stay with me tonight."

"You don't trust me?"

"You've tried to kill me more than 'several times', almost destroyed my planet, molested me more than I can count, and then left after we defeated you, making a fast friendship along the way. Now you want me to let you sleep in my room."

"Yeah." He didn't hesitate at all.

I sighed. "Kish, I'm glad to see you again, I've even wondered how you've been while gone… But you just can't. We can catch up tomorrow. I can barely stay awake right now. Besides, they won't let you in."

"We're already in."

Gasping, I realized he was right. I was standing in front of the desk where the night staff was looking at me with a grin. "Well, well, having a boy over for the night?" She looked him over. "You know we have to sign him in, and he was to leave before five A.M."

"He doesn't have an I.D." I state firmly. "So he can't register."

"Don't be like that, Ichigo," He exclaimed, placing his arm around me and plopping down an I.D. card onto the table. "Kish Negima, transfer student. Just got here. My Cousin here is showing me around."

I _know_ he just didn't say that.

"How nice." The lady slid his card through a scanner and handed it back to him. "I'll let it slide this time since he's your cousin. He's registered to be with you. Hurry along to your room now."

"Thank you." Kish forcefully led me away, humming.

No sooner than we turned a corner did I pull away and grab his card. "This is fake!"

"Sure is. I did some research on my way here."

"Then you know this is a _girl's _dorm!?"

"Sure do!" he never stopped looking around. "Where are the showers at?"

"You are _not_ taking a shower here!" I hissed at him.

He watched me a moment, his smile slowly fading. "Where are your ears?"

"My…" Oh….that's right, he never found out I didn't have them anymore. "I can control them easily, no big deal," I said tiredly. I did not want to get into this right now. All I wanted was some sleep. "Kish, you're sleeping on the floor."

The door to my room opened, and he started inspecting everything in site. I didn't even bother to tell him not to. I locked it behind me and collapsed onto my bed. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Kish."

Kish paused only momentarily to wish me goodnight. I didn't have any more energy today. He wouldn't do anything to me…. I hope.

The sunlight from the morning stretched across my face, annoying me enough to roll over. Finding that that didn't help any, I finally gave up enough to open my eyes. Sitting up, I yawned and looked at my bedside clock. Twelve fifteen. Already slept through the entire morning.

With a long stretch, I swing my legs over the side of my bed and stand. Another urge makes me stretch out and arch my back, getting a popping sound. "Nya…" I rubbed the spot that popped and stepped forward, only to trip over something and fall down.

"What? What!?" Kish stammered, trying to shake the sleepiness from his mind and figure out what was going on.

"Owwww…" My hand went to rub my arm, which took the brunt of the fall. "Kish, what are you doing?"

"Sleeping on the floor, like you said!" He countered, annoyed at his rude awakening. "You could have at least given me some covers, you know."

"Oh, sorry…" That was rather mean of me. "I don't even have any to give. I'm broke… Speaking of jobs, I have to quit at the library and get to the café soon." Kish was looking at me. "What is it?"

"Nothing," he looked away.

It…almost seemed like he was sad for some reason. As if he had something to say, but couldn't. "Kish… Is something wrong."

He didn't look at me. "Ichigo…actually…I…No, never mind, it's nothing." His smile was back, along with the goofy smile of his. "Your skirt is up."

"Kya!" I thrust my hands between my legs, making my skirt cover everything. "Pervert! Get out of here!" I threw a shoe at him as he ran to the door, realized it was locked, and teleported through it. I slapped at the ground next, realizing I didn't even change out of my cloths from last night. "Mou!"

"They really seemed depressed to see me go," I muttered as I cashed my last paycheck from the library. There was a small confrontation at the desk there, and I was glad I would never be going back. Kish had not been outside my door that morning after I had changed cloths either. Sighing, I pocketed the money and walked out of the bank, assuming he would find me later. Slowly inhaling through my nose, I started to feel better. Now with a smile one my face, I made my way across the street and on my way back to campus.

Jumping lightly as a small vibration came through my purse, I flipped open the top and dug out my cell phone. I had forgotten I put it on silent for my classes. "Hello?"

"Ichigo!" It was Masaya. "I tried calling you several times last night, where you been?"

"Masaya, you wouldn't believe it! Everyone got together again last night at the café!"

"Café? Everyone?"

"Oh, Oh! Ryou and Keiichiro made a new one on campus!" I was almost skipping as I talked to him. "And Zakuro was there too! Pudding, Mint, Lettuce, Everyone!"

"Wow. I feel kind of left out."

"Don't be silly, it all happened so fast!" I giggled. "Come meet me there now! It's on the west wing of the school, by Heritage building. Can you?"

"Of course! I'm on my way there now. It'll take me a bit."

"Where are you now?"

"The movie store."

"Which one?" I stopped and looked to my left at our favorite store. A few moments passed and Masaya exited the store, and shifted the bag on in his hand to hold his cell phone better. "Is it the one we always go to by any chance?" I asked happily.

"How did you know?" With a smile, I hung up on him and started to sneak to his back, one hand clutching my bell tightly so it wouldn't ring. "Ichigo? Ichigo, are you there?"

"Nyow!" I jumped onto his back, making him bite back a scream. "Ma-sa-ya." I whispered into his ear. "Miss me?"

"You're a sneaky little cat, you are." He replied, turning to flick my bell. Today I had on the one I received last year. A small simple silver bell on a silver chain. It was one that would match almost all of my cloths, and not jungle too much when I was in class. The best thing about the bells was they were just gifts. No birthday, Christmas, Anniversary, nothing. Just a random spur of the moment gift.

Masaya gave me his smile before taking my hand and starting to walk with me. "So, Ichigo, did you have fun last night?"

I should probably tell him. No one else knows right now. "Actually, after I left the reunion, I ran into someone else we haven't seen for a while."

"Oh?"

"Kish."

He had stopped walking, just as I expected him to. I stopped as well, looking down at the ground, trying to summon some courage to say something else. He beat me to it, though. "Ah. How is he?"

Assuming, he knew that if there were any ill intentions, I wouldn't be walking with him right now. "Good. Said he was visiting." Not being able to resist anymore, I looked up at him. Masaya had never liked Kish, and for good reason. Even when they left, the truce between the two was fragile. "You're not mad are you…?"

"Of course not." He started to walk again, taking me with him. "I'm not…really pleased he's here, but I can't blame him for coming for a visit."

"He stayed at my place last night, faking a student I.D. card."

He laughed. Masaya _laughed _at hearing that. I was thinking he would be furious. "That sounds like him. Ne, you make him sleep on the floor?"

"Of course!"

A chuckle. "And that sounds just like you, too." He squeezed my hand, to reassure me. "I know you wouldn't cheat on me."

With a smile, I bring my other hand to his arm and hold it close to me, beaming up at him. "What movie did you get?"

"You'll have to find out when you come to my apartment tonight to watch it." A wink. "That is, if you have time?"

"Okay!"

Masaya whistled as he looked around the café. "Looks nice," he was clearly impressed. "Ah, there's Pudding!" He pointed at her as she sat down some cake in front of a couple. "And Lettuce, Mint, even Zakuro!"

"Masaya!" Pudding called over to him before running to tackle the boy in a hug. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Me either!" Another girl hugged him from the side, followed by a third.

Everyone seemed to talk at once, greeting him and talking about everything and nothing all at once until Ryou yelled at everyone to get back to work.  "Masaya." He nodded at him, getting a nod back.

"Good to see you again," Zakuro spoke, shaking his hand.

"Same here. We have to catch up."

"We do."

"Ichigo, can you change, please? We're starting to fill the outside as well."

"Hai, Ryou, I'm on it." I took Masaya's hand and led him back to the kitchen. "Keiichiro is this way," I guided him. "You can stay here for a while if you want, while I work. That way you can see everyone as they come back and forth and wait on orders!"

"You thought of everything."

"I try!" Leaving him with a wink, I ran into the changing room.

This is going rather well so far. I'm going to be working with all my friends again, and to top it all off, Masaya is here as well. Smiling, I pulled off my shirt and began to change into my new work outfit. I would also have to talk to Ryou or Keiichiro to find out how much I would be paid. Surely money wasn't an option with them, seeing as how I was paid ten thousand yen an hour when we first met. I bet I could even get fifteen if I asked. Smiling, I tied up my shoes. No more Ramen noodles for me.

As I exited the changing room, I found Masaya in an apron, helping Keiichiro mix some ingredients together. With a wink, I pick up the plates from the order out counter and call over my shoulder that I would be right back.

"Here's your order," I greeted the group of guys at the table marked on the receipt. "Enjoy your meal, if there's anything I can do for you, just ask!" Smiling, I gave a small bow before returning to the kitchen, where Zakuro was talking with the boys.

"Order up!" Mint called, putting up a receipt and falling into a chair. "Keiichiro, could I have some tea, please?"

"Some things never change," I sighed as Pudding came in as well; putting two more orders in the turn table. "Oh, Ryou, I noticed we're doing more than cakes and things."

"Of course," He replied, hands behind his head in a casual manor. "Before we were appealing to young girls, now we have to range between the guys and girls of the college maturity. That includes snacks, more drinks, and casual lunch."

"Hmmmm……" I looked over at Masaya, who seemed to be having fun helping out, even though he knew he didn't have to. I couldn't help but feel pleased. It seemed like everything was instantly going along perfectly.

"Kish!?" Mint exclaimed, standing up in shock. I had just told everyone about him being down for a visit.

"Is Tart with them!?" Pudding asked, excited. "I wonder what he looks like now!?"

"Are they planning anything?" Zakuro asked, straight to the point.

"He said he was just visiting." I waved my hands to try and calm them down. "He disappeared this morning, haven't heard from him since."

"Probably scouting the earth, seeing how things are," Lettuce spoke up, calming everyone down.

"Well, anyway, we need to be off." I stood along with Masaya and gave a small bow to them. "I can't wait till tomorrow."

"Same here," They all chorused, getting a laugh.

Kish looked around Ichigo's small dorm room, inspecting random items before seeing a small machine with a flashing light on it. Pressing the button next to the light, Ichigo's voice suddenly filled the room. "Ah, Kish, I'm staying with a friend tonight, so if you came back, feel free to sleep in my bed, and help yourself to anything in the small fridge next to it, okay? Next time, don't just run off like that without saying anything! Bai Bai!"

"Hm…"Turning, he limped his way over to the said appliance and opened it, wincing in pain at the simple motion. "I'm thirsty…" Reaching into the small container, he pulled out half a gallon of milk and drink it all straight from the carton. "Ahhh… I needed that… Now, I need to get patched up…" He stood slowly, continuing his search for a medical pack; trying not to drop blood on what he touched.

"Aww, that was a sweet movie," I commented as the credits rolled across the screen. "Thanks for inviting me over tonight, Masaya."

"I just wanted to spend some time with you…"

"Awww. I'm going to miss you."

"Me too…"

He was leaning forward. My eyes closed lightly and my head tilted a little, meeting his lips gently. My arms were encircling his neck slowly, pulling him closer as his wrapped around the small of my back. A moment later a soft and sweet taste invaded my mouth when his tongue found mine.

-purr-

I felt his hands roll over my stomach and his lips trail down my neck slowly.

-purrrr-

"Masaya…" My face was warm, and my heart was beating fast. The soft feeling of his lips playing on my skin made me breathe a little quicker, and blush more. His hands massaged my back and then began to play across my tail lightly…

Tail…?

"Ichigo!"

My eyes shot open and my hands went right to my head, feeling two furry cat ears. After the shock of this faded, I let one shaking hand reach behind me and grasp the long twitching tail that extended from my backside. "I…I…"

Not answering, he pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back in an effort to calm me down. It worked quickly, and I found myself hugging him, more in shock than anything else. "Thought I felt different…" I whispered to him, in his ear. "I'm faster…Think quicker…craving fish… I just didn't accept it…"

"Are you okay?" He replied into my ear.

"I think so…" Pulling back slowly, I allowed my hand to reach up and stroke one of my ears. It felt nice, comforting. "It must be because we're all together again," I thought aloud. "I kind of… Missed this, actually."

I did. Despite how I felt about everything that happened, I had become part wildcat back then, and It just didn't feel…right… when it was gone. I felt complete now. Whole.

"I…want a shower," I spoke, blushing up at him, smiling. "Want to…join me?"

His eyes were gentle as he spoke. "Sure," His hand trailed over my right ear and down my cheek. "My little Kitten."


	4. The war begins? Kish defends the planet!

 "Tip-tap, Love is always tasty like candy. It's tasty like fruit too. Good luck, every day is a Sunday. Don't get rattled, my heart"

My song flowed smoothly over the single bedroom apartment as I cooked breakfast. Mixing some eggs, my tail swung out behind me in rhythm to my song. My ears and tail hadn't gone away since last night, but I knew I could make them disappear if I chose to. Right now, however, I didn't want them to. I was too happy at the moment, singing as I made breakfast for my lover; wearing only the top to his pajama set. It went well to my knees, but rested on my tail as it flung around behind me.

"Tip-tap, what we dream of is candy. If we stuff our mouths we'll soon be happy. Good-bye to a depressing Monday, Don't fade, my dream"

**College Mew Mew 4**

**By: Satashi**

Turning my head at the sounds coming from the bedroom, I smile. "Masaya, breakfast is almost ready!" I put some pancakes onto a plate for him, sided with some eggs and bacon. Seeing as how he was going to England in a few days, I thought I'd try and make him an English breakfast. "Hurry or it'll get cold!"

A few moments later, He emerged from his bedroom, yawning and rubbing his hair in an attempt to make it not stick out. "Morning, Ichigo." He was wearing the bottom half to the pajama set, tied loosely at his waist

"Good morning. Sleep well?" I sat down his plat at a chair and went back to his kitchen. "You want milk or orange juice?"

"Milk, please." He yawned and sat down, still trying to wake up fully. "And I slept well, you?"

"Of course!" I sat down his glass and smile at him, pecking his cheek. "You have a class soon, so eat up."

"Cheerful this morning aren't you?" He asked smiling at my tail as it swished out excitedly behind me while I sat down to eat my own breakfast. Waffles with syrup and strawberries.

"I am, nya" Was my reply before drinking a large gulp of milk and beaming at him. Masaya only smiled at me before starting to eat as well, complimenting me on my cooking. "Oh, by the way," I spoke, suddenly realizing. "Do I have any cloths here?"

"I think you have a few things," He replied, pretending to think. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you do, considering how you took over my closet not a month after I moved in."

My cheeks burned lightly. "Oh yeah." I forgot I did that. No wonder I couldn't find my favorite shirt. "A small price to pay for me doing all your laundry for you."

Playfully, he clapped his hands together in front of him and bowed lightly. "Thank you."

"Mou, you." I tried to kick his shin playfully, but he moved his legs and then crossed them at the ankles, keeping my foot between his legs. My cheeks burned again. "Flirty today, aren't you?" I looked down at my plate, smiling and blushing.

"I think you are more," He motioned with his fork. "Your ears are still up."

I reached up and stroked one, liking the feeling. "I haven't had them in so long; I kind of don't want to make them go away."

"Ah, I'm going to be late," Masaya realized, looking at the clock on the wall and getting back to eating. "What are your plans this afternoon?"

"Working at the café after my classes. Meet together for lunch?"

"It'll have to be a quick lunch. Have to get all my assignments. I leave Wednesday.

"Don't remind me," I pouted at him. "I'm going to miss you enough as it is."

"Heh, don't worry, my little kitten. I promise I'll call you everyday."

"Swear?"

"I do." He held out his pinky finger, which I took with mind. "Pinky promise."

"Eat a thousand needles?"

"Only if I can put catsup on them." He winked at me while I laughed.

Humming, I slid my Chemistry text book into my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. The students were all laughing as they waited for their turn to pass through one of the two doors that lead into the hallway. There were a few people waiting to walk inside the classroom as well, which I let in by moving to the side a little when it was my turn to go through the doorway. Exiting the room, I made my way along with the flow of students until I branched off with a few to take a side exit out.

Breathing in the fresh air, I stretched out, wincing lightly as a sore spot on my neck gave a small twinge of pain. Placing a hand on it, I giggled to myself, remembering the person who bit me last night during a particular turn in our love making.

"Kya!" Something cold was on my cheek.

"Drink?" Ryou asked me, leaning against the wall. I must have stopped walking during my flashback.

"Thank you," I took the can from him and popped the cap. "What are you doing here?"

"Exploring the campus," He replied, looking around, also drinking some of his. "Mint told me you would be around here."

"Yeah. I normally pass her on my way to class. Ah! My class!" Bowing to him, I started to hurriedly talk. "Sorry, Ryou, I have to get to Track!"

"You're on the track team?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to have to make good of it right now too," I turned to sprint off. "Thanks for the drink!"

"I can't come with you?" His voice asked me from my side. Turning, I saw him running next to me. "I haven't even had a chance to talk to you. At least let me watch you trip and fall on the track!"

"Jerk!" I put on some extra speed, surprised as he kept up with me. "Short cut!" I suddenly called, leaping into the air and one foot landing on a rail to the stairway leading down to the path of the general sports area. With a twist and a leap, I sailed over it. My body reacted just like I thought it would. Instinctively I twisted in the air and landed lightly on my feet, despite the almost two story drop.

"Ichigo!" Ryou shouted from the top down at me, as my ears went back down into my hair, having sprung up in mid leap. "You idiot, you could get hurt!"

"Not this kitty!" I called back up at him, running some more. "Sit in the bleachers, you'll see me!" And I turned again to run off.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"About last night!"

"Oh, I saw that on T.V! Do you think it was CG?"

"Couldn't be! It's in the papers this morning! Here, I have one!"

Blinking, I walked over to the crowd of girls to see what all the commotion was about. "What's going on?"

"Ichigo!" One of the girls pulled me closer, showing me. "Look at this!"

I read the headline aloud: "Attack at Tokyo Harbor! Mysterious people fighting" I had to think about it a moment, before my eyes drifted to the picture below it, where two people were clashed in a deadlock with each other. "Kish!" My hands grabbed the paper and pulled it closer. There was no doubt. The person in the air, with two night sticks crashed against a person with nun chucks. They both looked the same almost. Long ears, light clothing with the same two trails of cloth flowing behind them. "What's going on…?"

"You know him!?" A girl asked me.

Suddenly I realized that everyone was looking at me. "Ah… Ah! Nya-ha-ha… No, I thought it looked familiar, but it was just my imagination! I bet it was faked anyway!" turning I hurried over to my duffle bag and busied myself with getting my cloths ready to change into.

Kish… What was he doing? Fighting someone else… Someone like him! My world titled, making me feel light headed. Fighting? Why? Who? WHY? Was that the reason he was here…? Is this the reason my powers are coming back…? Is this… the reason why all of us are instantly back together again…?

Was there… another war coming…?

Crouch, set knees, prepare for takeoff. Clear your mind of everything except the two white lines. This was normally what I did at the starting line. Everyone was set the same way, positioned precisely to make the maximum amount of force to spring them forward. My position was different now, though. Crouched like a cat with my feet not even set on the starting tray.

The coach yelled at me to correct my starting position, but I ignored her. This was my time, where I didn't have to think about anything going on in the world. This was my zone. Just me, the ground, and the white lines. No aliens, no war, no Masaya leaving in two days. Just me.

The gun sounded and my legs shot out, forcing me forward quicker than any of the girls around me. The wind rushed against my face and the world blurred as I sprinted. Inhaling, the cool air filled my lungs and steadied me. I felt alive, free. The ground barely contacted my shoes before letting them go again, only to be replaced once more.

The finish line was crossed a moment later and I started to slow my pace to a stop. The coach clicked his stop watch once, but had to watch the other girls finish before she could comment on how I ran.

"_Ichigo_!"

Turning I smiled at Ryou and waved, but his frantic motion made me pay attention to him. He was pointing to his head. Reaching up I touched my hair, gasping as I felt my cat ears.

Go down!

The coach turned to me and looked confused. "Momomiya, why are you holding your head?"

Sighing, I realized I made them go away in time. Now for a reason… "I didn't breath properly, I got a head rush," I spoke lamely. It wasn't too much of a lie. You _could_ do that if you didn't exhale enough.

But she smiled at me anyway. "For suddenly being the fastest on the team, you sure do make some armature mistakes."

Giggling nervously, I scratched the back of my head. "Sorry, coach, but can I sit down a while? I need to collect myself."

"Don't take all practice, but don't force yourself sick." She advised before turning to the other girls, blowing her whistle. "All right girls," she spoke loudly. "A small break before laps. Do warming stretches again before we start!"

I gave a small wave to my friends on the team before trotting over to where Ryou was and sitting on the bench just in front of the stands, where he was sitting on the railing, much like Masaya usually does.

"How long has it been like that?" He asked quietly after a moment, giving me my drink that I placed aside earlier before running.

"Last night…No, last week. At first it was just my running, then my tail and ears. Last night was the first time they stayed out."

"They come out when your heart gets excited, like before?"

"Yeah… Ryou…" I turned my head and looked back at him, speaking softly. "What's going on? Tell me the truth?"

Ryou looked like he was about to speak, but paused when he saw me. Sighing, he looked down. "We've been getting energy signals again. Last night there was an attack at the Tokyo harbor. The two forces clashed for almost half an hour, destroying a ship in the process. We didn't get to see anything that wasn't on the T.V. because R-2000 wasn't there to give us feedback. But I know…One of the guys was Kish."

"…I thought so…I haven't seen him since that first day. I think he stayed at my dorm last night, but I can't be sure until I go back there again."

"Where were you last night?"

"With Masaya."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….."

"Oh!" My hand shot to my mouth, and I felt my cheeks burn furiously.

"No wonder your ears and tail came out fully. Must have been really excited, huh?" He stood and began to walk off.

"Ryou! It's….It's not like that...well maybe it is, but it's none of your business!"

"I didn't say it was!" He called over his shoulder.

"Mou! You jerk! Don't tease me!"

"I'm sure you tease enough on your own!" His voice was too cocky. Grabbing the nearest thing by me, my drink, I hurled it at him, missing. "Don't be late for work!"

Heaving in anger, I glared at his back as he walked off. "That arrogant little…" Taking a deep breath, I calmed down. "Still the same. Getting me all riled up at him so I wouldn't think about the things making me sad…" Watching his back as he retreated, I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Ryou."

Japanese Literature. I didn't really care for it too much, although some parts _were _kind of interesting. Right now, however, I found myself doodling on my notes, half-ly jotting down parts of a samurai named Kenshin who was single handedly credited to help bring the downfall of the shinsen gumi with his hiten style of fighting.

My little drawing turned into an SD picture of Mew Ichigo eating a strawberry while giving a peace sign. Above her head was a small speech bubble that proudly read "Sanosuke challenged himura, the strongest of Imperialist! –know for exam".

"-and remember to read the chapter so you'll know what we're talking about next class meeting. I _will_ be asking questions, so don't think you can get by without the work. Class dismissed, have a good day."

Well now that that was over, I flipped my text book closed, followed my by notebook. Quickly jotting down the assignment on the syllabus, I shoved it into my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, hurrying out the door so Masaya wouldn't have to wait long for me.

The outside weather kind of surprised me when I exited the building. Sometime during the last hour, some dark clouds began moving over. "Aw, it's going to rain," I spoke aloud, making a few other people look up as well. "Better hurry," I picked up my pace a little, but didn't quite make it to the cafeteria in time. The doors opened easily, but I was already wet. Stepping inside, I shook my head, slinging water.

"Hey now," Looking at the voice, I saw Masaya leaning against the wall where the trays were kept. "You're going to get me wet. Here," He slid off his jacket and placed it over my shoulders, moving it lightly to absorb some of the water.

"Ma-Masaya, you'll get your jacket drenched…"

"I don't mind." He smiled and crossed the sleeves in front of me so it would stay on. "It'll keep you warm."

"Thanks." I smiled up at him, taking the offered try. "I'm in the mood for something baked…"

"Me too." The smile that made me fall in love with him in the first place graced his face then. I would never get tired of it, no matter how much I saw it. "Shall we, Ichigo?" He took my hand and walked with me over to one of the many sections of lines.

A loud clap of thunder made me look out the window and thread my fingers through my boyfriend's. Hard to believe that in two days he would be gone again for a month almost. Maybe it was for the best. If things didn't settle down between Kish and whoever he was fighting last night, we may be on the edge of another war. I didn't want him crossed up in it.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Eh? Oh, nothing really. I'm going to miss you when you leave."

His hand squeezed mine reassuringly. "It'll pass by before you know it. Come on, let's order." He nodded to the lady waiting for us behind the small bar.

"Sorry I'm late!" I called as I entered the kitchen to the café. "It's raining so hard out there…"

"Yeah, business is slow today," Keiichiro greeted me, leaning onto the counter. For once he didn't seem to be making something during business hours. "We only really need one waitress on call. Unfortunately, Zakuro is filming, Pudding is in school, Mint has classes and Lettuce is in an exam."

"Which leaves just me." I pointed to myself, watching him nod. "Oh, that reminds me, what am I working for?"

"How's sixteen hundred yen sound?"

"Better than I was hoping for," I replied, with a peace sign. I'll get right on it then. Is Ryou working now?"

"Just until you can take over." He lowered his voice. "Actually… I've been in the basement a lot…We're getting a lot of…weird energy signals."

"Even after all this time, you two are still at it?"

"Someone has to protect earth," Was his reply, his smile back again. "We'll fill you in tonight. For now, go change, I'll clock you in."

"Thanks!"

"You guys never seem to stop impressing me," I spoke as I looked around the room. There were computers lining the walls, with many things going on at the same time. Ryou sat at the main monitor, typing steadily.

"We try," he replied coolly, before motioning me to come closer. "This is what I want you to see. Even though the news camera didn't get a good picture, we've cleaned it up."

Leaning forward, I watched the clip as it started to play:

"As we see here, the new ship 'Latonto' was completed and passed its first sail across the seas to make a delivery to the United States. Estimated at over several million yen, this exclusive cargo ship is already known for…What's that? Mark, up in the air!"

The camera turned and the image went hazy a moment before focusing in on two people in the air. "What in the world…" The camera man breathed out, zooming in closer onto Kish

The words were barely audible, but Ryou moved a switch on the control panel and it soon cleared out.

"-here Saucer! You should go back!"

"Kish, you know why we're here. We're going to reclaim this planet and restore it to its former beauty!"

"I've already tried!" He slashed his arm out in frustration. "It's just not going to happen! We need the remaining Mew Aqua's to help our planet back home!"

"I'm not returning to that godforsaken wasteland again! The next time I see my family, they will be leaving the space ship and walking onto the green grass of earth!"

"I won't allow you to destroy the lives here!"

"Then you are my enemy!"

What happened next was almost too fast to comprehend. The man known as Saucer created nun chucks made of pure energy and attacked Kish, throwing him off balance. Next, he swung down, only to be blocked by Kish's trademark nightsticks. A flurry of attacks ranged out until Saucer flew backwards and threw several small some things into the water.

The ocean exploded as large marine animals flew from the surface. Kish's eyes went wide and the feed cut off.

"That's all we have." Ryou said simply, stopping the video of static. "The camera man was drenched in water, their camera destroyed. As it turns out, Kish won the battle and both teleported away. Fortunately there was no Mew Aqua where they were."

"Mew…Aqua…We collected all of them…didn't we?"

"You gathered all we knew how to detect," Keiichiro interjected. "The Mew Aqua are created by pure unpolluted air and water, as well as by love and affection toward a certain something. Mix it with power, and it becomes a physical substance."

"In other words, there are more out there, and that man wants them."

"Tokyo Mew Mew is making a come-back." Ryou's voice was calm, steady. "We must collect the Mew Aqua's before Saucer gets them, or Kish."

"No…" Both of my friends looked at me, shocked. "No," I repeated, voice shaking. "I…I have a normal life now…I have a boyfriend…I'm in college…" a tear fell from my eye. "I almost lost everything when the last war ended… I can't…I can't risk that again…"

"Ichigo!" Ryou stood up, but Keiichiro put his arm in front of him.

"I understand." He spoke calmly. "The other girls will be informed of this tomorrow and we will start the plan to retrieve the mew aqua's. You will not have to fight if you don't want to."

"But she's the strongest!" Ryou shouted at him.

"I'm not a weapon!" My voice screamed before I realized it. I was crying hard now, sniffing in-between words. "I'm not some kind of secret weapon that you can just use whenever you want to! I'm a girl, I have dreams, I want to get married, I want my life! I can't… I can't do this again!"

I couldn't wait there any longer. Wiping my eyes with my arm, I dashed from the room and out into the hallway. Behind me I heard a small skirmish between the two boys, then feet pounding after me. Ryou was chasing after me. The doors to the café burst open as I ran through them, closely followed. From there, the rain soaked me, being only lightly protected by Masaya's jacket.

"Ichigo!"

"Go _away_!" My ears sprang from my head and my tail lashed out behind me, instantly sagging in the rain. The sudden burst of power allowed me to outrun him easily. Where should I go? Where _can_ I go? Masaya? No, he had enough to worry about. Home? No, my parents can't offer any type of help during this situation… My dorm. No one could get there.

Opening the door to my room, I let the dripping wet coat fall to the floor. He was here. Kish was sitting on my bed, leaning against the wall with one of my notebooks in his hands. He looked startled at my appearance. I couldn't blame him. I was wet, cold, and obviously not in a good mood.

"You found out," Was all he said. Answering with only a small nod, I didn't dare trust myself to look into his eyes. "I didn't want this," He continued. "I tried so hard to keep this from happening…But when the command was given, I came anyway. I had to try and protect the planet that you lived on. I wanted to collect the mew Aqua's for my planet rather than for destroying this one…But no one would listen to me." His voice paused a moment. "Ichigo, they're trying to do just what I did all those years back… They want to accelerate pollution to kill everyone here, and then use the mew aqua's to restore it to the way it was before the rest of my kind get here."

"Get out, please."

"I know you're upset, Honey."  He got off my bed, and limped over to me. "I'm sorry…"

"Are you okay?" I was still looking at the ground.

"I'm fine. Will be healed completely in another day or so."

"Then please leave."

"Honey…"

"Kish…please. I can't…I can't deal with this all at once…You have a place to go?"

"….I do."

"Then please."

Kish placed one hand on my shoulder then, pausing only a moment, kissed my forehead. "I knew it would be hard at first…" His voice whispered before he seemed to float backwards and teleport away.

Walking to my bed, I laid onto it slowly, ignoring the water that was still on me and talked into my pillow. "I don't want to fight."

I wanted to.

"I don't want this...."

I felt the desire to protect.

"I don't want this…"

I had been longing for the wildcat.

"I don't want this…"

Then why does my heart ache to lunge into battle and protect everybody?

"…I'm scared…"

But I knew what I had to do.


	5. Ribbon Strawberry Check? Ichigo battles!

My door had to have been knocked on at least ten times today. I just didn't feel like talking to anyone. My mind was being mean to me, making me all confused at what I wanted and what I needed to do. Another war has started, and it wasn't going to stop until one side won and the other lost. My body was craving the action, ready to pounce on anything that tried to threaten my planet. My mind wanted to be normal. My heart… knew all along what I was going to do.

My ears and tail haven't gone away since I made up my mind.

**College Mew Mew 5**

**By: Satashi**

"Ichigo? Ichigo, are you in there?" Zakuro knocked on my door lightly. I didn't really feel like talking to her, though. She always made too much sense.

My phone was ringing.

"Ichigo, I know you never leave without you cell phone," Zakuro said through the door. "So either let me in now, or I'll sit out here until you either have to eat something or go to the bathroom."

…She was too dang clever.

Sighing, I got off my bed and walked to the door, opening it for her. "Come in,"

"Thank you." She walked in, closing the door behind her as she did so. Looking around, she grinned in her own special way. "Some how, I pictured more boy band posters on your walls."

I laughed before I realized it, getting a smile from her. "See?" She asked, sitting on my bed next to me. "All you need is a good older sister to cheer you up when you're down."

"Zakuro… I already decided what I had to do."

"Before you say anything, let me go ahead and tell you that we've already all had a meeting. Yes, our powers are back, although we're still getting used to them again. But… Everyone agreed that you suffered the most during the first war, and we all understand if you don't want to do it al over again. We'll fight for you."

"You won't have to." I looked up at her for the first time. I could tell by the look on her face that I must look horrible. I had cried almost all day. "I'm going to fight too. But… I don't have my Mew powers anymore."

"They are still inside you," She touched her chest, over her heart. "Keiichiro told us; you are still wild cat." Gently, she stroked one of my ears. "And still a cute one, at that."

"Nya." The weight on my shoulders lightened. "Everyone is together again… We're all going to fight as a team again, aren't we?"

"We'll always be there for each other, you know that."

"Yeah."

"Now come on, you need to get out of your room. I think we both need a large banana split, my treat."

I couldn't help but laugh. It's been months since we've last done that. "With extra nuts?"

"And so much chocolate syrup, you'll have to search to find the ice cream!"

"Sounds tasty!"

"I don't know how you do it, but I'm glad you do it." Lettuce told Zakuro as I ate my half of the calorie infested treat inside the café while everyone else worked.

"It's nothing once you know how they think," She replied smoothly. Even after all these years, she was always so calm and collected.

"Yay! Ichigo is staying with us!" Pudding yelled as she hugged my neck and making me choke on my drink. "Mint, you owe me five hundred yen!"

"You _bet_ on if I was going to stay or not!?" I screamed, standing.

"No," Mint replied, sarcastically. "We _bet _on how long it would take you to realize you were going to come back to us no matter what anyway. I had two days, but Pudding bet on one."

That was so like her. "You never change, Mint."

She smiled at me. I loved it when she smiled; it looked so nice on her face. Maybe if she did it more often, she would have a boyfriend by now. They were probably intimidated by her.

"Here, Ichigo," Ryou sat a sheet of paper in front of me. "Fill this out."

"What is it?" I looked it over. "A job application?"

"Legal matters," He gave me a pen. "How often can you work? I never got around to asking you?"

"I'm free all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Saturday and Sunday are free as well, but I need them for studying and such if I'm going to work until closing time my other days.

"Fair enough." He looked over the girls. "With all of us, we should always have enough to be a full staff. I can pick up any slack, and Zakuro will help whenever she's free from her real job. Keiichiro and I will monitor possible mew aqua sources. Hopefully this will be over with in a few months time. Any questions, Mew Mews?"

"Yes."

"What is it, Ichigo?" He seemed to be playing it safe with me after what happened yesterday. Smiling innocently up at him, I asked what I needed:

"What's today's date?"

"Masaya."

He turned and looked at me, smiling like I knew he would. Currently he was standing in front of the bus that would take him to the airport along with the other candidate that would go to England with him. "Ichigo, good morning." He accepted my hug and kissed my forehead. "Rainy weather today, isn't it?"

"You forgot your things," I held up a duffle bag. I knew he would do this, after all this time I could just tell.

"I'm not going." He put on his serious look, trying to make me not argue with him. "I'm going to stay here."

"No your not." I thrust it into his chest. "I packed your cloths, bathroom stuff, and a good book I picked up along the way for the plane flight, and made sure you had enough money to keep you entertained."

"Ichigo, I can't..." He tried to push the bag back at me, but I let go, making him catch it by the strap. "You need me here…"

"I'll be fine; I have my friends with me, and maybe even Kish. Lord knows he kept all five of us busy by himself all those years ago. I'm sure with him on our side things will go smoothly."

"Ichigo. You're scared."

"N-no I'm not…"

Wrapping me in a hug, he planted a small peck on my cheek. "I'll stay if you want me to."

Dear Lord I want you to stay so badly…

"Go. You've been excited about this ever since you told me. I'll be fine, don't worry." Gently I adjusted the strap on the bag for him. "Call me every day, and be sure to eat right. Don't forget to use cold water on your colored cloths and warm for your knitted ones. It's supposed to be cold up there so wear a scarf…"

"Ichigo." His voice cut off my ramble. "I lived there for a year and a half, I'll be fine."

Blushing. "Of course. I know that…"

"Oi! Masaya-kun! Let's move it!"

"They're waiting for me."

"I know…" There was a small pause before I leaned up on my tip toes and kissed him. "Be good."

"Be safe." He kissed me one more time. "I love you."

"You too." I wiped a tear away from my eye. "Go on now, before I start crying!"

With a small laugh, he trotted away, turned to run backwards and waved, then turned back around, slapping a high five with the boy waiting for him. I watched as they got on the bus and waved as it started to drive off.

My cell phone rang then, diverting my attention. Flipping it open, I moved it to my ear but didn't even speak before I heard Ryou's voice. "Mew Mew. Inland Park. Hurry."

"I'm on it."

A small explosion told me I was in the right spot as I arrived in the park, just around the water fountain. Before I could even ponder where everyone was, Mew Pudding came into view; flipping over some type of water based attack and landed next to me.

"Glad you could make it!" She greeted cheerfully, despite the battle. Her tail swung out behind her, matching her small ears as they twitched in anticipation. "There are five of them, one of each element and the last of some type of telekinetic power."

"Where is everyone else?"

"Right here."

Turning, I saw them all run and group around me. Mint, Lettuce, Zakuro, and Pudding were all in their fighting attire, radiating a strong desire to protect, fueling their energy.

"Transform, Ichigo!" Mint shouted as the enemies also regrouped.

I don't know if I can…

Holding up my hand, I called out the words that I remembered from so long ago. "Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorphosis!"

Would it work? Can I? I'm not sure…

"Jump!"

Following Lettuce's command, I sprang into the air as lightning hit the place we were just standing. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to be going a lot higher than I was. It was then that I noticed that only my cat ears and tail responded to my call. "I…I can't transform!"

"Rising Lightning blast!"

The verbal shout was soon followed by a loud crack of thunder and the splitting of the earth. Long yellowish white streaks of raw electrical power erupted from the ground. I barely had enough time to roll out of the way, but even though the attack missed me directly, I felt an odd shiver run over my body and down my spine. My vision got hazy and I could feel my legs going numb.

"The power of Incred's lightning is more than a meager attack," Saucer explained while my friends all landed in front of me. "The power of it will dull all off your senses by overloading the nerve endings in your body."

The man known as Incred flew lightly forward, away from the group in the air. His hair was long and blue, trailing into a long ponytail. His clothing was different than the others, having a full shirt instead of a half vest. It was white with a blue cross on it, flowing to his waist where loose blue fighting pants graced his legs. Behind him three loose strands of clothing flowed out into the air.

"That one's mine," He pointed at me with a grin. "Just like Kish said, agile but somewhat of a klutz."

"Kish!?" My world titled. Was he or was he not on my side?

"Where is he anyway?" Another asked.

"Probably somewhere trying to recover after Saucer kicked his traitors butt."

"Enough about him!" Saucer flew forward. "Divide and concur!"

It all happened so fast. Before I knew it everyone had split up, leaving me to run past another bolt of lightning. Incred swept in close and flew in front of me, making me stop dead in my tracks and look up at him, horrified.

"Now, now, Kitty. Don't run before the fun starts." Incred's voice drifted easily, as if he was really enjoying himself. "Once you and your team are out of the way, the world will be ours again. You should feel proud to have dueled with me…"

I'm scared…

"Mew Mew Strawberry!" I closed my eyes tightly. "Metamorphosis!"

"Die little cat!" He swung his fist, but I ducked out of the way and ran. My mind only realized that my legs were still too numb to fully escape when I felt the searing pain of my tail being grabbed. Being an extension of my spine, I could never stand it when it was gripped roughly. "Hey there, the fun hasn't started yet! Where you going?"

My instincts took over and I found myself turning around, slashing out with my hand. Incred's face shot to the side and four claw marks appeared on his cheek, leaking blood. He was shocked enough to let me go, which I took full advantage of. Darting away, I got to a safe distance and tried frantically to think of what to do next. My nerves were on end and my mind was too scared to let me think correctly.

"You…You cut me… you _cut_ me!" His eyes flared. "I'll kill you!"

The surge of energy was so great that I covered my face with my arms and screamed; only waiting for it to hit me. But the cry of pain wasn't from me, it was Incred's voice.

"Picking on Ichigo… Isn't a wise thing to do."

The next thing I saw shocked me to no end. Standing in front of me was Kish, in all his glory. Incred was far away, slowly pushing up from a trench that his own body dug into the ground from whatever attack Kish had unleashed. He turned to me and looked down. "What are you _doing_!?" He scolded me. "Transform and fight!"

"I-I can't!" I breathed out, scared. "I tried but I can't! I can't fight! I can't protect anything! I can't, I'm too weak, and I can't! I just-"

My head ripped to the side. A stinging feeling pierced my cheek before starting to burn. Slowly my hand reached up to it and gently tested on how sensitive it was. Kish had… Just slapped me.

"You can't, huh?" He asked; voice low. "I didn't turn on my people, fly thousands of light years back to the planet that was stolen for me, and almost _die_ just to hear you say you _can't_." His shoulders were shaking. "I come here, after all this time…thinking of you every day…Knowing, just _knowing,_ that when I arrived you would hug me… Say that you missed me…But what do I get? Nothing. You ignore me, ditched me, and left me alone when I needed you_… I fought my own race_!" His voice shouted at me. "I did _not_ suffer through all of this just to hear you whine about how you _can't _fight! I am not going to sit and watch you die! Now get up and _fight!_" He grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet, glaring deep into my eyes.

His eyes…were sad, angry, and hurt. He had done so much. He went against all odds, just like I used to…Like I…I…

"Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorphosis!"

The feeling was indescribable. Familiar and new all at the same time. The energy flowed through me like the warmth of a fire on a cold Christmas day. It filled my lungs, my heart, and my body all at the same time. I was fully complete now.

"For attacking my town," I began, glaring at Incred as he finally was able to stand. "And for hurting me and my friends, I'll be of service, nya!"

The ground under Incred shattered as he dashed forward. The dust on the ground was blown away from the sheer speed he was moving at.

It was too slow. Way too slow.

I neatly leapt to the side and grabbed his arm; slinging him out of control and making him slam into a tree. "Strawberry Bell Bell!" The item appeared in my hand. "Ribbon!"

Incred slashed his hand upward, making lightning strike. Dodging neatly into the air, I took the time to gather the power inside of me. "Strawberry Check!"

The flash of pink flared around me and shot like a bullet to my opponent. His eyes widened at the attack, and he teleported out of the way just before it struck. "This isn't over, Mew Mew!" He yelled as he faded from view. "Not over at all!"

The ground touched my feet gently. I stood, smiling, at the place where he had vanished from. "I did it…I did it… I'm a Mew Mew again!"

"I knew you could." Kish spoke behind me. Turning, I smiled brightly at him, about to say a word of thanks to the alien. But then I saw what he was holding.

"Is that…?"

"A Mew aqua drop," He finished for me, bottling it. "Incred lost it in the battle. With this I can track down the real forms of it."

"But…why do you need it?"

Kish looked away. "I'm collecting them to take back to my planet."

"But…We…I mean…"

"You need them to counter the attacks that they are planning." He gripped the small bottle in his hand.

"Kish! If they do something like you did last time, then we'll have to have the mew Aqua to counter it!"

"And I need it for my planet!" He yelled back at me. Seeing my hurt look, he softened. "Ichigo, come with me! Help me collect the Mew Aqua and return to my planet! Together we can save it!"

"I can't. I have to have them to fight for _my_ planet."

He didn't answer for a while. "I'm sorry that it's going to be like this." He flipped the bottle into the air and caught it. "I will find them first. If anyone tries to stop me…"

"If you're going to keep them for yourself then I'll have to service you..."

"…I'll fight them with all I have!" he finished his sentence just as I did mine. "So we're enemies again."

"Seems that way."

He smirked.

I grinned. "Thanks, Kish. I owe you one. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you!"

"Ah! I wouldn't have it any other way!" His hand shot to the heavens. "Chirima Anima!" The parasitic alien appeared. "Go!"

"Ribbon Zakuro Pure!"

A purple whip of energy snapped the parasite in half neatly.

"Mint arrow!"

"Pudding Ring inferno!"

"Lettuce Rush!"

Kish skillfully dodged all the attacks and took to the air, looking down as everyone gathered around me. "Well then, I'll retreat for now since it's five on one! Ta-ta!"

"This has been a looooooooong day…" I spoke aloud after everyone stayed silent for a while.

"It's not even lunch yet."

"And I missed all of my classes already," I realized. "Oh man, I was supposed to turn in that paper on the Mejia era for Japanese Literature!"

Another small pause.

And then we laughed. Laughed long and hard, hugging each other close. "Another milestone!" Pudding exclaimed happily. "Tokyo Mew Mew!"

"Leave the future of the planet to us, nya!" We all posed. I don't know why, but we did.

And it was fun. I was no longer scared; I was happy. I knew what I had to do, and I accepted it. No longer would I run from my responsibilities or hide in the past. I was a Mew Mew, and I would protect the planet I lived on. From the new enemies, even from Kish again.

"Come on, let's go to the café."

"I'm hungry after a battle!"

"Maybe we'll get a free lunch!"

"I want a burger."

"I need to go back to work."

It was almost as if we were in the past again. Laughing. I walked with them, transforming back to our normal clothing again.


	6. Learning about our foe? No day is normal

Oh man, I have never been so full since I started college. Collapsing down onto my old bed at my parent's house, I fought the urge to just go to sleep then and there instead of studying for my test coming up this Friday. Since I had been working non-stop at the café since it opened, I had been given half a day off with pay. After fighting yesterday, I didn't really want to return to my empty dorm room, so instead I called my parents and was more than welcomed back home for a good meal and a comfortable bed to sleep in.

**College Mew Mew 6**

**By: Satashi**

"Ichigo, want to watch a movie with us?" My father peeked his head into my room, which was empty except for a bed, TV. and desk. "You've been studying for a few hours now, you need a break."

"Hmmmm…." I leaned back in my chair and stretched. "Sounds good. I could use a break." I stood and stretched out. "Give me a few minutes."

"Sure thing." He smiled at me before retreating back downstairs to the living room. I was about to follow him after arranging my books, but my cell phone went off, catching my attention.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Ichigo!"

"Masaya!" I hopped onto my bed, smiling. "How are you? I miss you!"

My boyfriend laughed. "I missed you too, although I saw you yesterday. Strange thing, almost as soon as I got to the airport, I had this strong urge to see you again."

"Oh, ummmmmm…."

"…Ichigo?"

"Ah, sorry. I got lost in thought. I really do miss you. Maybe you are homesick already?"

"It wasn't that kind of feeling…" He paused a moment. "Is everything okay over there? Are there…any disturbances?"

Oh, I forgot. He always knew when I transformed. The Blue Knight changed at almost the same time I did. "Um…"

A sigh. "There is…I should come back."

"No!" I stood up and paced. "I won't let you. I'm fine; all my friends are with me. We'll be perfectly okay."

"Ichigo."

"Really. I promise. But more importantly, did you meet everyone and get there okay? I didn't get to talk to you long at the airport."

He chuckled. "Actually I'm with them all right now. We're at a party."

"That would explain all the commotion in the background." I giggled. He was obviously trying to make himself not to look like a whipped puppy dog when it came to me. Although I didn't understand what was being said over on his end, I did catch my name a few times with kissing sounds following. It's times like this I wish I learned English better than I did. "You're being teased."

"Hey now," His voice was pleased at the same time.

"I'll let you go back to them then. Can I call you tomorrow after lunch?"

"Ah, sorry, Meeting first thing in the morning. I'll try and get you later?"

"Work." I pouted. "There's a big time difference isn't there?"

"Six hours. It's one in the afternoon here."

"Then just call my cell when you can. I'll be sleepy, but I'll live. Ah! Daddy's calling me. I have to let you go. I'm going to watch a movie with them."

"Sure. Bye Kitten."

"Bai bai." I clicked off my phone and tossed it on my bed. "I'm coming!" I shouted downstairs as I left my room, cutting off the light.

My dreams faded away from me as the alarm clock beeped steadily. Not knowing what was going on at first, it took me a while to realize what exactly was making the sound that had invaded my sleep. The covers fell from my chest as I sat up; wondering why I had set the alarm so early and put it all the way across my room so I couldn't just hit the snooze button on it.

Oh yeah, Friday. I had a test first thing in my History class. Heaving a sigh, I swung my legs over my bed and padded my way across the room to shut it off. "I need a shower…" I mumbled to myself, sleepily walking to my closet to sort through it, hoping I had left some of my good cloths here last time I visited. Finding a long sleeve green sweater and some blue jeans, I plucked them from the rack and made my way to the bathroom.

The hot water sprayed over my body, giving a pleasant drowsy feeling. After letting it spray on me for a few moments, I turned around to let my hair get wet and wash over my skin. Pausing just below my inner thigh, I traced the marking there with my index finger. After everything that went on, I had forgotten to check to see if it too had come back. Smiling down at it, I felt more awake. Luckily, being part wild cat, I had gained a speedy recovery time from battling, and my bruises were mostly gone now, minus a particularly sore spot on my side where I was hit.

The conditioner rinsed from my hair smoothly, finally letting me cut off the water and step outside of the shower. Walking to the mirror, I used my hand to rub the fog off of the surface and look at myself. I didn't think I was particularly beautiful, a little plain would be a better word for it. I had strawberry red hair and big brown eyes. Turning my head from side to side, I inspected closer. I still didn't see how Masaya could call me pretty.

Maybe I should try something new? Looking in the cabinet, I opened my mother's make up box.

"Morning." I greeted my mother, walking into the kitchen. "You're up early."

"I don't get to see you much anymore, the least I can do is make you breakfast." She smiled at me, and fixed my bangs a little. "You look pretty this morning, what's the occasion?"

Nervously, I ran my hand through my pony tail. When my hair wasn't in pig tails, it was rather long. "No reason." I replied to her, sitting down to eat. "I just felt like a change."

"It's nice," My dad stated, walking into the kitchen as well, stopping a moment to flick the bell that was tied to my ponytail holder. It jingled every time I moved my head. I would probably get weird looks in class during my test if I wasn't careful.

"Thanks."

"Hey, did you see the paper?" My father asked my mom as he skimmed it over.  I took a drink of orange juice- "The Mew mews are back!" – Only to spit it out and cough.

"Are you okay?" My mom asked quickly, patting me on the back. I took the napkin handed to me by my dad, and wiped my face and the table, blushing.

"Sorry," I mumbled, taking the paper and looked at the front cover, where we all stood. Someone had taken a picture of us while we posed after winning. The headlines proudly stated Mew Mews fight against aliens again!

"Those girls sure have gone through a lot," My mom stated, looking it over. "Especially the cat. I remember all those years back when she had that breakdown."

"I'd rather not talk about that," I said softly, cleaning up my mess. "What they do has nothing to do with me afterall. I'll leave the earth up to them, nya." I clasped my hand over my mouth. The meowing had become a massive habit lately.

My father placed his hand on my head and smiled. "Not going to be late are you?"

"Eh?" Looking at the clock, I jumped up. "Oh man, I am!" Giving my mom and dad a quick hug and kiss, I grabbed my book bag and slung it over my shoulder, running out the door. "I'll call you later!"

I had forgotten that I didn't have my bike with me, so getting to class on time would be impossible.  With any luck I would only be five to ten minutes late, depending on how long I could run. The downfall of that was that I had Track meeting later in the day. Either way I looked at it, I was getting definitely screwed.

So lost in though was I, I didn't even notice the car turning in front of me until it honked its horn. Scared, I jumped into the air and landed on its hood, screaming. It stopped quickly and the driver got out almost as fast. "I'm so sorry!" He said, worried, as I caught my breath. "I'm running late and didn't look. I'm sorry, are you okay? Oh man, I'm going to get fired…"

"Are you okay, Ichigo?"

Looking up, Zakuro was in front of me, offering her hand to help me down. "Zakuro?"

"I'm late for filming, but since my driver almost killed my best friend, the least I can do is offer you a ride to class, ne?" She smiled, showing that she knew well and well that something like this wouldn't hurt me at all, being a Mew Mew.

"Thanks a lot Zakuro." I said, bowing as I got out of the car, a full five minutes early. The people around me all started to gather as Zakuro smiled at me.

"Anytime, Ichigo. I'll see you later?"

"Of course." I bowed again. "Should I tell them you'll be a few minutes late?"

"Please do." She winked at me before the driver drove off, leaving me waving to her.

Suddenly aware of everyone looking at me, I gave a small "What is it?" before turning and walking away, looking down and blushing at the sudden attention everyone was giving me.

Sitting down in my class, the boy that sits to the left of me greeted me with a smile. "Hi there," He spoke, catching me a little off guard. He didn't usually talk much to me.

"Good morning," I replied. "Ready for the test?"

"I think so. Say, I didn't know you were a movie star."

"I wha-?"

"That was Zakuro wasn't it?" He smiled. "And you're so pretty today, you must be shooting with her, right?"

My cheeks burned, and I suddenly felt a little shy. "Er, no. She's just an old friend…"

"Hi." Turning, I looked up at another guy I didn't even know. "I'm Recca. I, er, know this is sudden, but would you like to get lunch with me later today?"

Oh….Oh wow. "I, err, that is…"

"Mou! Why is everyone acting so weird today?" I asked no one in particular as I stuffed my cloths into my duffle bag. Track had just ended, and I was shocked to see the stands more full of boys than normal to watch the girls run. "This is starting to irk me."

"Calm down Ichigo," My friend Levina patted my shoulder. "It's probably because the Christmas dance is coming up in two months. All the guys normally start searching for girlfriends about now so they'll have a date."

"I already have a date!" I sighed out, zipping my bag closed. "He's just in England right now."

"It'll be okay," She patted my shoulder as she passed. "Just hang in there."

"Mou, I'm hungry." I sat down at an empty table of the café and laid my head down.

"Don't you have a class?" Ryou asked, looking down at me.

"Not going." I didn't look up. "I'm sleepy, still a tad sore, and don't want to mess with anything else today."

"Well we don't open for another hour," He trailed off a moment before walking off, hands in his pockets.

I don't know how long I lay there, but it must have fallen asleep. When I awake, Ryou was next to me, shaking my shoulder lightly. "What is it?" I asked sleepily, rubbing my eyes.

"Here. Eat up." He slid a tray in front of me. A bowl of chili and some corn chips with a large glass of milk. "It's good on a chilly day like this." He pulled out a chair and turned it around, sitting on it backwards so he was leaning on the back of the chair. "We haven't got a chance to just talk. How is everything?"

I ate a bite of the offered food, glad for the hot feeling as it went down my throat. I didn't even realize how cold I had been earlier while running. "I'm okay I suppose."

"You live on campus don't you?"

"Yeah, don't have a room mate. I'm in the third girl's dorm on the other side of campus. Room 307."

"I never liked dorms."

"Me either, the room is small, you share a bathroom with twenty other people, and it smells funny."

"Why don't you move out?"

"Can't afford another place." I took another bite. "I tend to stay with Mint a lot, and I go home every weekend usually."

"You can come stay here if you ever get lonely." He looked away. "I don't have a lot to entertain with, but it's always a choice. Me and Keiichiro live here together."

I smiled at him, patting his hand which made him flinch lightly. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"N-Not that I think you'll need to, after all." He stood, and started to walk off. "Just trying to be friendly."

I laughed to myself. He never was the type to just come out and say he was worried about someone.

"By the way,"

"Hm?"

"R2000 misses you, so I'm loaning him to you again." The little machine/pet/thing that was Masha flew over to me and rubbed against my cheek. "Take care of him for me, will you?"

"Of course!" I stroked Masha a few times before letting him poof into a small keychain like form, which I hooked to my cell phone.

"And also, we're having a meeting later. Masha filmed everyone last battle and we've diagnosed everything."

"Right."

"Okay, here's the low down," Ryou spoke as a video started playing behind him of yesterday's battle. "From what we have gathered, the enemy is in two sets. One by himself, and the other consisting of five people. First off, the familiar one. Kish."

The video behind him changed to a black background with a green grid on it. Kish stood on the left side of the screen with data on the right. "As before, he uses two nightsticks to battle, as well as controlling Chimera Animas. His physical power isn't very strong, but he's fast and can control a certain energy source to enhance his attacks. By himself, he shouldn't be much of a problem once you all regain your full powers and are familiar with them again."

The screen flashed, showing Saucer. "This is Saucer, seemingly the leader of the second group. He, like all the other aliens, can fly and teleport. His physical powers are uncertain right now, but he controls telekinetic abilities and can form them into nun chucks to battle."

A new person. "Incred. Controlls lighting and has sensory paralyzing abilites. Fast, strong, but likes to act alone it seems."

Another. "This man is known as Kei. He controls the earth element it seems; able to spit open the ground and otherwise move it at will."

I observed the man as Ryou spoke. Long brown hair and a tan vest with matching pants. He had black slip on fighting shoes and green eyes.

"This is Black Rose," Ryou continued, showing a woman with pink hair and a full black long sleeved shirt and red pants. "Controls wind. She's fast. Very fast. Her physical powers are weak, but don't let that fool you."

"And finally we have Yosuke, the wielder of fire. Although he's not as quick as the others, his power is off the charts, able to crush rocks and break through trees with ease."

Keiichiro stepped forward to address us. "One at a time, they would be easy to beat as a group, but together they are a powerful team that is very dangerous. Our tactic will be to locate the Mew aqua's as soon as possible while avoiding any confrontations possible. We know that Saucer is able to summon Chimera Animas, but are unsure about the rest. We'll have to collect more data as we go."

"So these are the people invading earth," Pudding stated it as more of a fact than a question.

"Hopefully this won't last too long," Lettuce's voice was determined, however. She had grown so much over the years.

"It won't be hard if we work together." Zakuro's voice was faithful.

"And we'll be living a normal life again," Mint finished for everyone.

"Do we have any leads on a Mew aqua yet?" I asked, taking the role as leader of the group.

"Just one."

"We'll get on it first thing in the morning."

Ryou nodded at us. "We're counting on you, Mew Mews."


	7. A Rough Day? The Mew Mews are in danger!

The air rushed around me as I ran along the rooftops of Tokyo, and it flew past as I leapt from it, clearing the gap where the street was below easily. Landing on the next building, I went into a crouch, and ran on all fours a moment to gain more speed before leaping off the next and air tackling Kish, who had been flying ahead of me.

**College Mew Mew 7**

**By: Satashi**

"You just don't give up do you!?" He cried as we both spun out of control and landed roughly on the hard ground, cushioned luckily by a spray of newspapers from the stand we knocked down on our way. Several people scattered around us, and tried to gain distance as I was flip kicked off of the alien.

Landing smoothly, I darted forward again, slashing my hand. Kish dodged under me, grabbed my arm, and threw my over his shoulder. Instinctively, my body twisted in the air and I landed on the side of a building feet first, then pounced off of it and tackled Kish's back when he tried to run off again.

"Lemme go!" He screamed, flailing in a vain attempt to chunk me off.

"Fine!" I yelled back in his ear, making him wince. Taking the chance, I pulled up so my feet were on his shoulders and leapt forward, kicking him roughly backwards as I did so. Landing on a car passing by, I jumped again onto another and finally a third before I reached the other side of the street and finally managing to land in front of Incred, who had just stolen an item from a young girl.

Risking a chance for massive pain, I leapt onto him and grabbed the item, happening to be a necklace, and kicked off of him, flipping backwards and snatching up the young one in the process and moving her to safety.

"Get back here, Ichigo!" Kish screamed at the same time as Incred finally realized what had gone on. I had no idea if this item held a mew aqua drop source of power in it or not. Before, our bodies had reacted to them, letting us know instantly if we were in the right spot or not. This time, there were no _pure_ sources. We had to collect them. Until we each gained a drop of the pure energy source to check with, like Kish had, we would have to return to the café each time.

My world lurched I received a powerful shock of electricity from behind. Yelling out, I lost my balance and fell, losing the necklace to Incred's grasp. Pushing up roughly, I kicked off the ground to follow him, only to see him get flip-kicked by Kish, then watch him leap to catch the flowing necklace. His hand grasped it and he flew quickly into the air to retreat.

Looking quickly for some way to get to him, I spotted a flag pole from the side of a building. Leaping to it, I landed on the end and let it bend down before snapping back up, just as I jumped. With the combination of force, I would reach Kish for sure. The alien however, was already checking the necklace, a big smile on his face.

"Mine!" I shouted, once again snatching it from him.

"Bad Kitty!" He snagged my tail, pulling hard.

My vision shot black and instantly I fell limp, unable to move from the blinding pain.

"My thanks." Incred said, catching it and vanishing.

Kish dropped me onto the ground and we both just stared at the spot where he had just stood. After a moment of silence, Kish was the first to speak. "Oh _great_ job Ichigo! Just _give _it to him why don't you!?"

"Oh, so it's _my _fault he has it when you _grabbed _my _tail!?" _I turned to him and fumed. "Thanks to _you_, they now have a mew aqua drop!"

Kish glared at me a moment before sighing. "There are more. No use in staying here. Till then, Honey!" And with that, he vanished off into the air.

"…Mou!" I kicked the ground and breathed heavily.

"Excuse me….?"

Turning, I was about to snap at whoever had just addressed me, but seeing a small girl tugging on my skirt, I softened. It was the one I rescued earlier. "Hi there," I greeted, kneeling down and patting her head. "I'm sorry I lost your necklace."

"It's okay." She smiled, apparently awed at seeing me. "I'm glad you tried for me. You're my hero!"

I couldn't help but smile broadly. "Oh wow, thanks. It means a lot to me. Now, where are your parents?"

"Over there," she pointed to two older people, looking frantically at a chance to cross the street.

"Well, let's go meet them, shall we?" I took her hand and walked with her to the crossing, just as they finally were able to run across. The father instantly grabbed her up and held her close, almost crying.

"Thank you…thank you…" The mother said, hugging her as soon as she could. "Thank you so much, Mew Mew."

"Leave protecting the earth up to us, nya!" I pawed my hand out of habit before suddenly realizing something. "Ah! I'm late for my class!" I turned and leapt straight onto the top of a three story building, from there running off to a clear spot where I ditched my back pack earlier and picked it up, running along the rooftops to try and get back onto campus. Once there, I landed onto the top of my building and de-transformed and ran inside the roof entrance and down the stairs to the second floor. Running, I slid a bit before my classroom door and opened it, instantly getting a mean look from the professor.

"I'm sorry, the test has already begun." She pointed at me. "Please close the door on your way out."

"But, I,"

"I do not tolerate these kind of disturbances. If you are serious about your education, you will be here on time. Please close the door on your way out."

My eyes stung, but I blinked and nodded, bowing lightly. "Sorry for the disturbance." I took a step back and clicked the door closed. Sighing, I sank down and leaned against the wall, looking at the ceiling. "And I stayed up so late studying…"

"You're not your usual self today, Ichigo," Keiichiro stopped me as I was heading back into the café to drop off the order taken. "You don't look like you've been sleeping well."

"I haven't," I replied tiredly before putting on a big smile and trotting out into the diner part and delivering the plates and refilling drinks. My shoulders sagged as I re-entered the kitchen, and I sighed.

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" Ryou asked me, suddenly appearing in front of me.

Sagging, I allowed my forehead to rest against his chest. "This is hard," I told him. "I've been doing this for a week, and I swear it's going to kill me." Looking up at him, I waved it off. "Never mind, I'm sure everyone else is working just as hard, I shouldn't complain."

"Order up!"

"I got it!" I put on a big smile for Ryou and ran to Keiichiro, taking the tray and heading back out to the diner section.

"She's trying hard, isn't she?"

"Yeah…Let's give her the rest of the day off when Pudding gets here."

With a small sigh, I collapsed onto my bed in my dorm room. I was sleepy already, thanks to the cat genes inside me. I napped almost every day now. For at least an hour, usually at the café before my shift starts. Keiichiro told me once that Ryou picked up my slack for me, considering I normally used his bed.

My phone rang then, making me roll over and pick it up. Looking at it, I swore to myself that if it was anyone who knew about Chimera animas, I would not answer. "Masaya!" I clicked it on and beamed at my ceiling. "Masaya!"

"Ah, Ichigo," He greeted me happily. "How are you?"

"I'm tired," I replied honestly. Sighing, I continued. "And I was late for one of my test, thanks to Kish, and the teacher wouldn't let me in the classroom… So I made a zero on it..."

"Ouch," He sounded sorry for me. "You can pull it up with extra credit, I'm sure. Some professors will offer it. But I've heard that it's a lot of work."

"I don't have a choice." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "But other than that, how are you? How is everything going? I really miss you." It was hard to believe he had already been gone for two weeks. "You're coming home soon aren't you?"

"Absolutely!"

He didn't…sound completely happy. "What's going on?"

"Nothing at all." He replied easily. Just then I heard a small scuffle, and then Mark's voice.

"Yo, Masaya! Tell her about the convention yet!? I bet she's excited, her boyfriend being the main speaker and all!"

"Shut up Mark!"

"Oh man, my bad! I ruined it didn't I?"

"You're having a convention?"

"Eh, yeah, it's no big deal."

"No big deal?" Mark again. "Dude it's going to be _huge! _Stop being so humble!"

"I see… you want to stay for it don't you?"

"No, not at all!" Masaya replied. "I'm coming back tomorrow, just like I planned."

"It's okay. I know it's important to you." I could feel a tear coming to my eye. After everything that's happened, this was the only thing that had allowed me to get by. Now it too, was ripped from me. Forcing a cheerful sounding voice, I continued. "Stay, Masaya! I bet there are going to be a ton of people there, aren't there?"

His voice was ecstatic. "Of course! It's the biggest convention in all of England! I'm going to be the main speaker, and there will even be a huge director for the discovery channel there! If he likes me, I could even be given a chance to do a documentary!"

"Oh wow! This is what you've always dreamed of!" I felt truly happy for him. "A document on TV will make a huge impact on the world!"

"I know!" He sounded like he was walking on the moon. "Are you sure you don't mind? It'll only be one more week or so, I promise!"

"Of course I don't." I laughed at him. He was trying his best, and I should too. "I'll take care of everything here! Just leave it up to me!"

"That's my Kitten. Oh!" His voice suddenly turned serious. "I've been having these dreams. Like-"

"Hurry up man! We're going to be late!"

"Ah, sorry Ichigo, I'm running late, I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Sure thing."

"Ichigo."

"Yes?"

"I'll be there if you need me. I can feel it."

I smiled. He was always thinking of me. "Thanks. Now go have fun. Call me later okay?"

"Sure. Bye."

"Bai bai." I clicked off my phone and let it fall to the bed. Bringing my hands behind my head, I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Oh well. One more week won't hurt. We're all trying so hard, after all." I smile. "Even Pudding. She got in trouble for skipping a club meeting so she could help me last time at the café…Oh wow, I'm talking to myself. I've been in this dorm way too long…"

My eyes snapped open quickly, and my body screamed at me to move. Not understanding why, I let the cat part of me take over and flung myself on the other side of my bed just as my window exploded.

When the smoke cleared, I ran over to it and looked out, seeing five people hovering in the night air. Yosuke's body engulfed itself in flame and he pointed to me.

"Mew Mew Strawberry-!"

The blast sent me sailing from the large gap in the wall where my window used to be. Quickly falling, the flames around me were put out as I finished my transformation. Landing hard, I rolled a few times and grit my teeth. I must have twisted my ankle. Jumping up anyway, I limped away quickly to gain some distance before I turned to look at my building. The fire was already put out, thanks to the sprinklers, but I was sure everything in there was either toast or water logged now. Great, just great.

"Hey you guys!" I pointed a finger up at them. "Attacking a dorm room, what do you hope to gain!? For that, I'll be of service to you, nya!"

All five of the people flew at me, making me jump and twist my body several different ways to avoid them. Landing, I prepared to call forth my bell, but I suddenly remembered my ankle when a sharp pain shot through it, making me wince.

Seeing the delay, Black Rose ran forward. Before I knew it, she was behind me. Turning, she was already at my side, fist slamming into my stomach hard. Coughing, I managed out "Strawberry bell bell." Before I was hit again.

As I stumbled backwards, I gripped the heart shaped weapon in front of me, only to be hit from the side with a blast of fire.

"Ichigooooo!"

Kish landed next to me and blocked an attack, only to be clipped hard on the back of the head by Saucer's solidified energy nun chucks. As he reeled in pain, Kei Uppercuts him, making him literally fly into the air, only to be slammed down by Yosuke.

Kish hit the ground and slowly made a move to get back up. A small trail of blood leaked from his mouth. Shocked at the sudden beating of the other force invading the earth, I moved to try to get to him.

Incred lifted one foot back and I watched in horror as it connect to his stomach. Dark liquid shot from his mouth and he sagged, falling onto the ground and not moving, eyes closed.

"Kish!"  I had never been angrier. "Ribbon!"

I was hit before I could even finish. Five people were on me all at once, not bothering with Chimera Animas, not wasting time talking, nothing but trying to reach their goal.

"Lettuce!" I called out, hobbling away, trying to get some distance. I blocked three attacks before being hit again. "Mint!" I ducked another swipe and jumped over a sweep kick, only to be shot across the sky by a blast of wind. "Zakuro! Help me!"

I landed roughly, sliding across the gravel of the parking lot. "Pudding…" I slowly got up, using a car as a brace. "Anyone…"

Incred flew at me, stopping just in front of my body. Before I could react, His hand was around my neck and I was lifted into the air. Clawing at his wrist, I coughed out in fear. "Mew Mews!" they weren't here yet…" Keiichiro! Ryou!" They couldn't fight… "Kishhu! Anyone!" He was already beaten.

Lightning flashed around me and I felt my legs going numb. My fingers grew cold, despite the lighting flaring around me. My right ear went deaf and my vision blurred before that too was robbed of me.

I was dying, and I knew it.

My mind reeled, thinking of Masaya, who I hadn't seen in half a month. Now I wouldn't see him ever again…

I wish…I wish I had told him I loved him one last time before we hung up earlier today…I wish I could just touch him one last time… to kiss him and let him know that he had made my life worth while.

The grip on my neck was released and I was gently sat on the ground.

"Unforgivable…"

That voice…I knew that voice…

"Unforgivable…"

I couldn't see, couldn't move. Only hear.

"It's…Unforgivable…" the voice was seething…cold…deadly…

"I don't know who you are, but you-"Incred's voice turned to a scream of pain, then was silent.

"Un…forgivable...To hurt…My preciaous…Ichigo…"

"He got Incred!" Kei's voice shouted. "You jerk, I'm gonna-"

His voice too fell silent, and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground came next.

"All of you…will pay…"

A feminine battle cry was launched, and then stopped a moment later, followed by a scream.

"All of you…will suffer…"

"Burn in the flames of hell!" Yosuke's voice was furious, and even though I couldn't see him, or know where he was, I could feel the intense heat as if I was actually on fire myself.

But the next instant it was gone. A small scuffle was heard, and then someone hit the ground.

"All of you…will die... for hurting…My Ichigo."

What was going on? I knew that voice, but it couldn't be…He wasn't here…It couldn't be…

"Lord Deep blue…" Kish's voice was pained, and he was near, in front of me somewhere.

"I am not Deep Blue," The voice said calmly. "I am the blue Knight… I… am Masaya."

I couldn't stay awake anymore. I fell forward.

I was being lifted up. Everything seemed to hurt at once.

"Ichigo! Ichigo, answer me."

"…Masaya?"

"Ichigo," Kish spoke next, voice pained and obviously hurt. A wet hand move my cheek. "Open your eyes, can you see?"

Oh lord, I can't see. "I'm...I'm blind…"

"Ichigo, listen to me. _Listen_!" Kish made me look somewhere, maybe toward him. I felt him open my eyes with his fingers. "Can you hear fine? Can you move your legs?"

I wanted to sleep. I could answer him later…

"_Ichigo!_ Answer me!"

"I can't hear out of one ear… I can't move anything."

"Good." He fell backwards.

"What do you mean _good_!?" Masaya asked, angry. "Don't make me…"

"She's been temporarily paralyzed, that's all. It will all fade. She'll be fine besides the battle wounds… But me…I'll die if I don't get medical aid… "And with that, Kish must have vanished, because I felt Masaya's arms pick me up.

"You'll be fine," He spoke to me gently. "I'll take you to the hospital."

"I can't…" It hurt so bad to just talk. "My ears… My tail…I'll never be able to live normally again if I'm found out…My mom was a nurse once…"

I couldn't stay awake anymore. I felt my head roll back and once again I was engulfed by sweet nothingness.

I was laying on something soft…something familiar… It was…comfortable, inviting. "Wha…Water…"

"Here, honey, drink this." I felt someone gently tip my head forward and place a rim of a glass to my lips. Slowly I drank until I finished it all.

"Thank you…" I was eased back onto the comfortable feeling bed, which I realized was mine. I must be home. "Mom… Is that you?"

"You're dad's here too; it's okay honey, take it slow. You're okay."

My mind wasn't working properly. I felt hazed, slightly confused. I couldn't see, couldn't move… "I'm scared…"

"You'll be fine." My father stroked my head gently. "Just get some rest, okay?" His voice was soft and caring.

How did I get here? Where was everyone? How did… "Where's Masaya…?"

"Sweetie, Your boyfriend is in England." My mother took my hand and rubbed my palm. "Just rest."

I didn't have a choice. I felt my mind slipping back into the inky blackness.

When I awoke again, I could feel the warm air from the heater, and a soft blowing sensation of my ceiling fan. Opening my eyes, I realized that I still could not see, but the pain of my body was now a dull ache. For some reason I felt the need to get out of bed. My body felt weird, and it wanted to move.

Gently I sat up, wincing lightly as my tight muscles moved again. Slowly I slid my legs out of bed and sat them on the floor. I managed to stand, even if a little shakily. I felt light cloths on me; apparently I had been cleaned and changed. From the feel on my ribs and left leg, I had some bandages on me as well

I walked slowly to my door, using my arms in front of me to keep me from running into anything. Finding the door frame, I walked through it and trailed my hand across the wall, carefully looking for the stairs. Walking slowly down, I made it to the bottom and looked around, even if I couldn't see. "Mom? Dad?"

I heard chairs shift in the general direction of our dining room. Before I knew it, two people were hugging me and guiding me to a chair, asking all sorts of questions that I didn't know how to answer. Finally, after sitting down, I spoke. "I'm hungry…"

A moment later I had a hot bowl of soup in front of me. I took a sip of it carefully, not being able to see what I was doing exactly. After I had a few spoonfuls I paused a moment. "I guess you heard about the dorm room?"

"Yeah," My father answered me.

"That's…How I got hurt. You see, there was a fire and I fell down the stairs trying to get out…"

My mother touched my head. Just then I realized that during all this time, my ears and tail had been out still, even though I wasn't in costume. "Don't look!" I dropped my spoon and covered my head. "Go down," I spoke aloud, not meaning to. "Go away…"

"Honey, its okay... we knew all along."

"You…You did? But, there's no way…Not even Masaya knew at first…"

"You think your parent's won't know their own daughter?" My father took my hand and placed a new spoon in it. "Eat or it'll get cold."

I nodded and continued to eat, slowly at first, then faster once it cooled down. I didn't even realize how hungry I was.

"We were so surprised," My mom went on. "We got home and our door was open, a trail of blood leading to your room. When we got there, there was this man standing with you cradled in his arms, crying. At first I didn't know what to do…"

"But he asked us to take care of you," My dad picked up. "He laid you down in bed and asked us again to take care of you… Then, he jumped out the window."

"Masaya…"

"No, he had long blond hair, and was dressed in blue. His ears… were like the aliens that keep attacking."

"The Blue knight," I covered. I would have to speak with my boyfriend as soon as I could. I still don't know how it could be him, though… "He's a good person."

"I'm just glad you're okay… You had been asleep for almost three days."

"Three… three days!?"

"Yes, Masaya called every few hours. Even in the mornings. Poor boy probably hasn't slept since he called the night it happened. And all your friends took turns sitting with you. Unfortunately, we had to shoo them out tonight so we could get some peace and quiet."

"And there was someone else,"

"A weird boy, dressed funny. He had on a baseball cap always and sunglasses. Said his name was Quiche. He showed me a student I.D. and said he was in your class. Wanted to study with you about the upcoming exam. He stayed with you a long time. When I went in to check on you, he was gone. Simply vanished."

"I see." It was probably Kish.

"Are you feeling okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Sighing, I knew these questions would come again. I was about to be pampered beyond my wildest dreams now, and not allowed to do anything until I was fully recovered. I couldn't help but smile, though. It felt nice to be cared about.

A/N: An extra long chapter for you guys, if anyone is even reading this ; I have eight reviews so far with this being the 7th chapter. Wow, not really good… So, um, if you would, please leave a review. I don't want anything fancy, no great words of praise or cursing yells of flames. Just a smiley face, a period, or anything to show that people are reading this.

As long as someone is reading I'll keep writing, but if no one is reading, then I don't know if I should keep going or not…..Anyway, leave a small review for me please?

Also, if anyone has Tokyo Mew Mew episodes 5,6,7, 9-29, or 40-52 and wants to trade them over AIM with me or just share, I would be greatly appreciative. So far I've only seen a few episodes. This story is based on the manga (if you couldn't guess from Kish using night sticks instead of sci.) I have a wide variety of series to trade with, and DSL, so if you want to, give me your AIM name or email in a review (or email me )

This chapter dedicated to :

Greyhound Master  
Who has left three reviews for me! Thanks ==


	8. Masaya comes back? Our Interupted date!

Opening the door to Masaya's apartment, I stepped through and wrinkled my nose slightly. Being empty for almost a month now, it had a stale scent to it. Brushing the smell aside, I walked in with Masha flying over my shoulder to look around. "Well, I guess I'll be staying here for a while then," I spoke aloud, putting one hand on my hip and leaning to the side a little. "Oh well, can't be helped."

**College Mew Mew 8**

**By: Satashi**

Humming to myself, I made best of the better part of the morning cleaning and dusting. My vision had come back yesterday, and I felt more-or-less fine again. The only part of my body that remembered the battle was a soft spot on my right side.

My dorm room had been almost completely destroyed, leaving me homeless until I recalled having the spare key to Masaya's apartment, which he would gladly let me stay in, as soon as I told him I was.

Unfortunately, he had no idea how he had gotten to Japan while he was in England. He explained to me that he had been having dreams again, and the last battle I had, it had become so strong, he had changed into the Blue Knight before he even knew what was going on. Assuming he had the same powers as Kish and the others, teleportation wasn't a problem. The only thing was, if Deep Blue was truly dead inside of him or not. The thought worried him more than I knew he was letting on.

I shook my head to clear the thoughts. "No use thinking about that, ne Masha?" I asked the floating computer. "Better finish dusting."

The other Mew Mews had picked up the slack while I was gone, taking full advantage of the enemies being wounded to find and collect enough drops to make two full pure Mew Aqua containers.

I was told by Kish on a random visit that Saucer had taken his fallen friends and teleported away shortly after the Blue Knight had battled them. By now, however, they were surely recovered and probably not in the best of moods. At least now they knew better than to attack us like they did that night.

Moving into the bedroom, I smiled to myself. He really hadn't planned on going after the war broke out again. His bed was unmade and there were a few cloths scattered on the floor. Normally being a neat-freak, it was always cute when he got too busy to clean up after himself. That paired with my habit of cleaning his apartment up for him, had made him into a more laid back person than he used to be. He even had a half empty case of Smirnoff in his refrigerator.

Smiling to myself, I shook my head and picked up his cloths, gathering them into my arms to put in the laundry basket in his bathroom. Once next to the washing machine I sorted out his cloths and realized with a smile that I had many of my own mixed in with his. I still had to go shopping, though, as most of mine had either burned to ashes or got stained in the attack. Luckily Mint was able to get to my dorm and collect everything that was still fine soon after the attack.

My cell phone was fine, but my laptop was ruined completely. About a third of my cloths were salvageable, and my backpack was luckily only waterlogged. If I had to buy more textbooks, there was no way I could eat for a week at least. Unfortunately, my precious bell collection was gone, leaving me only with the original one. Zakuro had taken it to an antique collector and had it polished, buffed, and resigned for me, making it look brand new. I still refused to replace the ribbon, though, and still wore it as a bracelet.

My cell phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. Reaching over the couch, I picked it up from the cushion and answered it. "Hello?"

"Ah, Ichigo,"

"Keiichiro! What's going on?"

"Sorry to ask, but can you come in if you're feeling well? Lettuce and Ryou are being worked to death and the others can't make it…"

"Okay, I'll be right over. Give me about half hour."

"I'll be eternally indebted to you."

I knew the café would be crowded, but I didn't expect it to be _this_ bad. The entire outside was filled with people, despite the cold weather. Poor Lettuce was running all over the place, taking ordered and carrying at least three trays at once. Hurrying inside, I gasped at how full it was. Spare tables were brought out, and there were more than just a few people just waiting around to get their checks. Ryou seemed to be everywhere at once, a light shine of sweat on his face. I didn't blame him, it was nice and warm inside the café, and he didn't seem to stop moving.

Running back into the kitchen, I greeted Keiichiro with a quick "Hello!" before running past him to the changing room and putting on my outfit. Emerging, I saw three trays waiting and I grabbed two, putting one on my arm, and then picked up the third, hurrying outside and looking at the receipts to see which table they went too.

Only after a few hours I was tired and wanted to go home desperately. As soon as one person left, it seemed as if two more came in. It was a never ending cycle almost. Everything went so quickly, I didn't even notice it was getting late until the sun started going down and the outside crowd died off. Soon after, people thinned out and we were able to manage a break.

I pulled out a chair in the kitchen and fell into it, laying my head on the table. "Aw…I can't move…"

"Try being here since eight in the morning…" Ryou complained right back at me. It was almost seven at night now; he had put in almost twelve hours non-stop.

"I don't feel sorry for you, as much as you goof off when I work every day."

"That's mean."

He was only halfway arguing with me, probably still worried that I was still a little hurt. "I guess I'll go look around and refill drinks." Standing, I took the tea pitchers and made my way out into the diner.

Lettuce was bowing lightly to a customer as they left, and then sighed, wiping her forehead. "It gets a little warm after a while," She spoke, smiling at me. Agreeing, I refilled someone's glass and made small talk with them a moment before retreating to another table.  Free of this, we walked back into the kitchen, where Keiichiro was setting down my cell phone.

"Ichigo, Masaya just called while you were out. He said he would be taking the three o'clock flight home today."

"That's in two hours our time." I realized. "He won't be in until early morning! I still haven't called him to tell him I was staying at his place." I picked up my cell phone and started to press the speed dial, but Keiichiro grabbed my hand lightly.

"He was on a pay phone, his cell battery is dead."

I sighed. "Oh well, I wanted to wait up for him anyway."

At two A.M. I heard the door open. I had dozed lightly while waiting, but stood up from the couch, making my way over to the door, hearing some voices. "Ah, see you tomorrow." Mark was saying as I came into view. Seeing me, he smiled. "Or maybe later. Masaya, you dog, you didn't tell me you was living with your girlfriend."

"Eh?" Masaya turned to see me. Instantly I blushed. Mark was grinning like an idiot. No telling what he was thinking. "Ichigo." He nodded a good night to Mark and closed the door in his face, cutting off his laughing friend.

"Well, um, my dorm was kind of blown up, so…" I fidgeted with my shirt hem, looking down. A moment later I felt arms around me. Looking up, I didn't even have time to speak before my lips were claimed. I lost track of how long we were kissing, and the next thing I knew, I was lifted off my feet and carried off into the bed room while still being kissed.

I was laid onto the bed and felt his lips on my neck, arms still holding me close. "I missed you too, nya…"

I'm not sure when I woke up at first. Rolling over, I curled against Masaya's body and wrapped an arm around his waist and used his chest as a pillow. His heartbeat was steady; soothing. I revealed in the warmth under the blankets, wondering how I possibly lasted so long without him near me.

I took a long intake of air through my nose as I felt his finger trail down my spine and moved closer to him, snuggling. The finger trailed down to my tail, which it took between another finger to trail its length until it twitches and fled from his grasp on its own accord.

Giggling lightly I opened my eyes and looked up over at him, smiling. "G'morning, Masaya."

"I could get used to this," he greeted me back with a smile. "But your dad is going to kill me when he finds out your staying at my place."

"He already knows."

"He does?" He patted his body playfully. "I'm not dead yet?"

I couldn't help but laugh, sitting up and brining the blankets to my chin to cover myself. "Mom let it slip out."

"How much do you tell her?" He stayed laying down, moving his hands behind his head.

I blushed." Er, well…. We are rather close…"

"Oh man…" he removed one hand from his hair and put it over his eyes "I'm never going to be able to look at her the same again…"

"You're going to have to; you're coming over to dinner tonight."

"I am?"

Smiling, I poked his stomach. "It's only polite, since I'm moving in. You have to help me get the remainder of my things I'll need." Putting on a cute face, I pawed at the air and meowed at him. "I _can_ stay here until I get another place to live can't I?"

My little pose worked, and he laughed. "I couldn't let my kitty be homeless. You're house is too far off to commute everyday to classes. Plus, its nice waking up to someone…"

"Nya," I blushed darkly as his hands slipped under the blankets and wraps around my back, drawing me to lay on him. "Ma-Masaya…"

"Just let me hold you for a while… I missed you."

"O-okay…" I felt my tail flip under the covers and my cheeks get warmer. His heartbeat invaded my ears again, lulling my eyes closed. Before I knew what happened, I fell into a blissful sleep.

When I awoke next, I heard sounds coming from the kitchen. I stretched out slid out of bed, shivering as I walked to the closet and picked out some cloths. Grabbing a towel as well, I wrapped it around myself, just under my arms and walked out of the bedroom, sniffing. "Breakfast?"

"Lunch," He corrected. "It's past one."

"Oh wow." I looked at the clock on the wall. "How long till its ready?"

"Half hour or so."

"I'm showering then." I declared to him before walking to the bathroom, which was still a little steamy from the last use. Masaya had definitely gotten lucky with this apartment complex, having his own bathroom. I sat down my cloths on the counter, followed by the towel. Pulling the shower curtain, close, I turned on the tap and let it run over my wrist, waiting for it to get warm. I would have to buy some bubble bath…

I rubbed my hair dry with my towel as I walked from the bathroom, now fully dressed. Sniffing the air again, I smiled. "What are we having?"

"Oven baked sandwiches with garlic-butter dipping sauce, put on toasted French bread with fresh, organic, toppings! Free from all parasites, of course."

"Of course," I sat down and grinned. One of the things he could do, and do _well _was cook. Keiichiro may have cake and pastries down pat, but dang if my boy couldn't serve up a six course meal with all fresh ingredients, freshly picked herbs, and not an ounce of artificial things added...

But then again, it also took him half an hour to make two sandwiches. I couldn't help but giggle.

"What is it?" He sat a plate in front of me and flicked the bell on my wrist.

"Just thinking," I replied, smiling as he served me. "I like it when you cook for me."

His lips turned to a grin as he prepared his own plate; obviously pleased with himself, but too humble to say anything about it. "As long as you're happy."

"I am, nya"

Finally sitting down, he grabbed a handful of chips to scatter on his plate as well."Want to catch a movie before we go to your house?"

"Yeah!"

I always loved dates with Masaya. I know it sounds corny when I try to explain why to my friends, but I really do. Our dates consist of doing weird things I never see anyone else do; such as cleaning a river, cleaning a park, going to a museum, going to the library to look at things on saving the earth or animals, or just other random things. Going to the movies and dinner was a rarity, but also some of my favorites. Normally I wasn't much of a movie go-er, as Masaya liked mystery, suspense, and thrillers. I liked the run of the mill chick-flicks and comedies.

Tonight, however, I let him pick which one to watch since he just got back from his trip. He, of course, instantly chose the movie I wanted to see, but I laughed and told him to pick again, this time to choose one that _he_ really wanted. He picked next what I knew he would. A horror/suspense movie that he had wanted to see ever since the previews came out.

Now I found myself clinging to the sleeve of his shirt with both hands, eyes wide in fear, but not darling to look away from the screen. When the monster of the movie jumped up from the lake and grabbed the poor girl, dragging her in, I screamed for my life and buried my face into Masaya's chest and tried to catch my breath. The big dork, like always, chuckled to himself and continued to watch the movie, as if I hadn't just had a heart attack.

Thankfully, it was only almost five in the afternoon when the movie ended so there was still a little of daylight left. Masaya stretched out a bit and yawned. "It'd normally only be about eleven or so in England. I'm beat."

"I'm a little tired too," I replied, taking his hand as we randomly walked about. "But if we nap, we'll sleep right until its dinner time, be late, and then not sleep any tonight. I have classes tomorrow." Letting out a sigh, I scratched my head with my free hand. "I'm dreading this. I haven't been to class since my dorm was attacked… I've missed about a week's worth already."

"It'll be okay, we can study together. I haven't been to my classes for a month or so. I did my assignments, but if they trailed off from the syllabus, I'll have a rough time of things."

"Misery loves company," I sighed again. "I'm not looking forward to this."

"It won't be so bad." He glanced to the side. "Ah, Ichigo, would you go buy us some drinks?" He put a few coins in my hand. "I just remembered something. I'll meet you in the park, okay?"

Not giving me a chance to answer, he ran off, waving over his shoulder. "Um, okay…" I blinked and turned to look for a drink machine. "I wonder what that was about…"

"Hiya." Masaya leapt the bench I was sitting at from behind, scaring me. "Ah, sorry." He smiled at me. "Close your eyes."

I eyed him skeptically. "Last time you said that, you fed me something that set my mouth on fire."

"I won't this time, I promise. Just close them."

"…okayyyy." I shut my eyes, moving lightly as his hands trailed across my neck. "That tickles," I scolded him, wondering what was being placed around me and resisting the urge to open my eyes or bring a hand up to feel. I had developed a phobia of not being able to see ever since my last battle, and already I was squeamish.

"Okay, open them."

I did so, brining my hand to my neck, feeling a silk ribbon. Trailing it to the front, I found a hook that attacked to a bell, which jingled when I touched it. "A bell!" I realized happily. "Thank you!" I hugged him, making him laugh.

"And here," He gave me another small item.

"A compact?" I clicked it open. He normally didn't notice if I wore make-up or not, just my eye liner and lip gloss.

"I needed a mirror so you could see how it looked on you," He scratched his head and laughed lightly, obviously embarrassed about it.

I couldn't help but laugh at him, poking his cheek before I looked in the mirror. The ribbon was a bark blue with a silver bell. It was neatly tied as a choker necklace for me, with a bow at the end. "I like it," I told him as I flicked the bell, pleased at the jingle.

He was relieved. It was so cute how he was a little worried that I wouldn't like it. "I'm glad." His finger tapped it lightly, a habit he got over the years. "Got to let people know, you're my kitty."

"Awww, how sweet!" a new voice came up.

"Pudding!" I jumped back, surprised. "You scared me!"

"Welcome back, Masaya!" She gave him a hug. "We missed you! Ichigo was moping around ever since you left!"

"I-I was not!"

"Yes you were." Another vice came up.

"Hi Mint." Masaya greeted, standing to give the girl a friendly hug.

"What is everyone doing here?" I wondered, seeing Lettuce and Zakuro too.

"Ryou got a Mew Aqua reading," Lettuce began.

"And we're going to find it!" Zakuro finished for her.

"Not if we find it first!" All of us instantly looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Hey, up here!" Kish called up, getting our attention to the air. "There you go! Miss us?"

"Tart!" Pudding exclaimed, looking up at a seventeen year old boy with long ears and flowing brownish red hair in a ponytail. He had on a short sleeved black shirt with a red slash on it. Matching pants and shoes complete with the same two strands of cloth from the waist of his pants. He looked more mature than possible, but still had that grin on his face that I remember from so long ago.

"Pai!" Zakuro then noticed, looking on the other side of Kish. He looked almost the same as I remembered, only older. I remembered Kish saying that they had a longer life expectancy than humans, so they age differently.

"It's like a re-union!" Kish exclaimed, holding up his hand and making a parasitic alien appear. "Here's to us!" With that, all three of them sent a parasite down to the ground.

Before I knew what to do, a large mutant cat appeared before us, followed by a large demonic bird and a rabid dog.

"Let's do it!"

"Mew Mew Zakuro!"

"Mew Mew Pudding!"

"Mew Mew Lettuce!"

"Mew Mew Mint!"

"Mew Mew Strawberry!"

Masaya moved his hand in front of himself and grabbed the air, forming a sword handle.  The blade shot forth and he swung it. "Blue Abyss!"

All our voices blurred together. "Metamorphosis!"


	9. Battle in the City? A Free for all!

Masaya leapt into the air first, grabbing Kish and dragging him down to the ground. His long blond ponytail trailed after them and I lost track of the pair as they fell into the fountain behind the large Chimera Animas in front of us. I didn't blame him, Masaya never liked Kish.

At All.

**College Mew Mew 9**

**By: Satashi**

"Ichigo!"

I leapt into the air when Pudding screamed my name, narrowly missing a slash of the cat's paw. Twisting in the air, I grabbed my Strawberry Bell and landed in a crouch.

"This is going to be fun!" Tart shouted, dashing forward to Pudding and stopping right in front of her. "Miss me?"

Pudding took a few steps back, surprised.

"Raaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Mint had to roll on the ground as the area she was standing on suddenly exploded in a shower of rocks. Before she could even stand, Zakuro had to grab her and leap out of the way of a ball of fire, which ignited the ground.

"So we meet again," Pai stated, starting at the five aliens hovering in the air across from them.

"Pai. I was wondering how long it'd take you to get here." Kei growled at him, gripping his fist "I haven't forgotten what happened back on our planet."

"Ehhhhhhhh…" Tart appeared in the sky, hovering next to Pai. "You guys."

"Tart…" Yosuke shot forward like a bullet and speared him with his shoulder, making the pair fly backwards.

"It begins!" Pai gripped a fan seemingly from nowhere and slashed it. "Raiden shorai!"

Lightning danced across the air and crashed against Kei.

The rest of the battle eluded me, as I was left to deal with a giant bird. Jumping on top of a concession stand in the park, I leapt again and managed somehow to land on its back and force it down some. The next moment I realized that I didn't weigh enough to keep it down, and found myself flown into the city, where I had to force it into a building.

"Everyone get away from here!" I called out, just barely managing to retain my footing from the fall. Standing on solid ground now, I held out my bell. "Ribbon Straw berry Check!"

The blast hit the bird, and forced it back, damaging its right wing. It flapped then, amazingly sending me flying backwards. Hitting the ground, I skidded twice before righting myself and twisting to my feet.

A loud crash caught my attention, making me look to my left, where Masaya was leaping backwards out of a broken glass window display of a shop. Kish flew out next, face bleeding on his right cheek and eye flaring in fury. The two clashed hard, but Masaya's blade managed to rip through one of Kish's night sticks. The alien countered with a flip kick, catching him under the chin and making the Blue Knight fall backwards.

Kish leapt forward, his remaining nightstick posed to crush Masaya's neck, but he was stopped when the body of Black Rose slammed into him, making both go reeling. Looking, I saw Zakuro running toward them; whip being pulled back after the throw.

Lettuce landed next to me, jumped back a step and readied her attack. "Ribbon!"

"Strawberry Check!"

"Lettuce Rush!"

Our attacks had different targets, but still worked enough to send the bird and dog back.

"Don't get relaxed!" Incred's voice suddenly came in, as he literally flew just inches from the ground and grabbing Lettuce's and mine ankles, dragging us both.

"Ribbon Mint Echo!"

The arrow clipped Incred's side, making him lose his grip on us. From the sudden halt, I found inertia still carrying me and then I remembered the law of physics which stated that an object in motion continued to stay in motion. This was apparently true, because not even the tree I slammed into halted my flight, and I continued to sail until my back crashed into a brick wall, robbing me of my breath.

Yosuke appeared in front of me, fist reared back to punch me. Gritting my teeth, I used my speed to my advantage and slashed out, cutting his face. Pressing my luck, I slashed again, ripping his shirt. Now clear, I leapt, pounced off of him, and flipped back into the street, where Tart was deflecting one of Saucer's attacks.

"It's like world war three!" I complained loudly, greatly pissed off that my day was being ruined like this.

"I think we're going to be a little late tonight," Masaya spoke, pressing his back against mine. He had his sword in a ready position in front of him, glaring across the street at Kish, who was looking into a store of some kind. Deciding he saw something he liked, Kish slammed his fist against the glass, breaking it. Reaching in, He pulled out two sci and spun the around, now armed again.

"And All I wanted to do was take a nap, nya." I looked over my shoulder and smiled up at him.

Smiling back, he winked at me before yelling and running back at Kish, clashing his sword against his new weapons.

Jumping to the nearest roof top, I took a moment to assert the situation I was currently in. Sometime between last battle and now, Kish's brothers Pai and Tart have came to earth. That's 3. Each of them summoned a Chimera Anima. That's 6. Saucer's gang are here as well. That's 11. Add in the Mew Mews… that's 16. One Blue Knight makes it seventeen. There are _seventeen_ things battling in the middle of the town.

Dear Lord, my head hurts…

"Raaahhhh!"

My body was roughly jerked to the side, forced down hard by Incred's shoulder. Sliding on the rooftop, I managed to turn over and caught my balance and halted myself. My legs hurt a little from sliding and my stance was a little wobbly. "Don't you give up?" I asked him, adding a little hiss to punctuate my sentence.

"This time we are going to win," He replied, holding up a mew aqua container. "I'm going to use this to destroy you, along with this city!"

They had collected enough to make a pure source already!?

"Ribbon Pudding Ring Inferno!"

The container on his hands engulfed itself in a protective barrier, followed by Pudding's hand as she snatched it from his startled grasp and rolled.

"I think I'll just take this!"

"You _brat_!" Incred drew a throwing dagger from his sleeve and threw it before either of could react.

"Pudding!"

"Gotcha!"

Tart appeared in front of her and wrapped his arms around Pudding, teleporting away. They re-appeared a foot away, though, with a loud scream from Tart. Falling, I realized that he hadn't made it in time.

"Tart! Tart!" Pudding's eyes were wide, looking scared at the small dagger in his back. "Hold still ,tart, this will hurt…" She reached and gripped the handle. "One. Two. _Three_!" I though I was going to be sick when I heard the scream.

Incred was going for the Mew Aqua!

Sorry, Pudding, I'll leave him up to you! I pounced forward, using my track training to easily grab the Mew Aqua first, destroying Pudding's protection around it. "This ends now!" I held it up. "Strawberry Bell Bell Version up! Special Mew Aqua Rod! Ribbon Aqua Shower!"

It had been years since I felt the Mew Aqua's power. Even though I knew what it could do, I couldn't help but be amazed. The very air around me was cleared, even smelling like a bright day on an unpopulated island. Clean and clear with a light hint of water.

I didn't have to look to know that the chimer Animas were gone now, and the battling had stopped. Incred was blown back, floored by the attack. He gritted his teeth at me and snarled before teleporting off.

"Tart…Tart, you're okay. You're fine…"

I ran over to them and knelt down beside her. Pudding was holding Tart in her arms, crying. His breath was ragged and rough. Looking down, I realized why. There was a small pierce on his chest.  "Oh no…"

"Amazing…" He choked out. "I never forgot you…and you…you're even more beautiful than I remember…"

"Tart…"

"Tarutoooooooooooo!" Pai slid down next to him, eyes wide. "What happened!?" He gently took Tart's hand away from his chest. "Tart…You're lung is punctured."

"He'll be fine, right? He'll be okay, won't he?" Pudding's voice broke, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Such…A stupid crush..." Tart coughed. "Now I see how…Kish feels."

As if on Cue, Kish and Masaya's battle came to the rooftop. The Blue Knight broke the side rails of the build, probably being thrown by Kish. The latter of the two was flying at him, yelling out. Connecting, Masaya flipped him over, making him land next to us. He quickly got to his feet, but saw Tart, and froze.

Masaya's blade stopped not an inch from Kish's neck, but he didn't flinch. "…Tart…?"

"Let's get him back to base." Pai gathered him from Pudding's arms.

"So much…for looking cool, huh Kish?" He managed out before Pai warped him.

Kish glared at Masaya. "I'm going to win next time." And with that he was gone, not even looking at me.

"It's strange…" Pudding whispered. We both turned and looked at her. "I was a little kid…not even out of grade school…But he still…"

I kneeled next to her, placing a hand on her head. "He'll be fine. Don't worry."

"I lied…"

"What?"

"I don't have a boyfriend…" She looked up at me, wiping her eyes. "Such a stupid childhood crush…"

"You think she'll be okay?" Masaya asked as we walked down the street to my parent's house. Truthfully, I didn't feel like going anymore, but I knew I had to.

"She'll be okay. You know how she is. She's strong."

He sighed and took my hand. "I…"

"I know. Me too." I held his arm close, and lightly gripped his sleeve with my other hand.

"Ichigo!"

"Hi mom!" I smiled guiltily at her. "I know we're late, sorry."

She ran over to me and embraced me in a hug. "I saw it all on the news," She told me, worry in her voice.

"Aw man…" I gave Masaya a 'please help me' look.

"Ichigo is a big girl; you don't have to worry none about her." He stated, patting my mom on the head. Over the years they had become somewhat of good friends.

"You know about it too, then?" My dad asked, stepping outside onto our yard, where we were.

"Um, yeah…" He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm…kind of…"

Sensing his nervousness, I came in to cover for him. "Honestly, we do this all the time; let's just have a dinner like a normal family!"

"And I thought defending the earth was hard!" Masaya sighed, tossing his jacket onto his couch and heading off into his bedroom.

"Aw, it wasn't _that_ bad!" I tried to comfort him. "Daddy really likes you, honest!"

"He tried to set me on fire!"

"That was an accident! Honestly, you don't have to be so worried about my parents liking you."

"It means a lot to you," He replied, falling onto the bed after taking off his shirt. "I can't help it."

I sat next to him and began to rub his back. "You have a class first thing in the morning; you don't need to be stressed like this."

"Mmm…"

I smiled and straddled his waist, kneading his back gently. "Wow, you're muscular."

"Kendo will do it to you…" He yawned.

"I see," I trailed a finger down his spine, making him shiver. Of course I already knew how muscular his body was, but I liked teasing him. "I'm going to shower."

"I'm going to sleep." He lazily pulled a pillow under his head and rested on it.

"Ah, you're cold," Masaya pulled back lightly from my embrace as I slid into the bed with him.

"And you stink and didn't even change cloths, now hush before I make _you _go shower too."

He rolled over and went back to sleep, leaving me to place my back against his and doze off.

"Mmmm... Mmm?" I didn't feel like waking up. My body was sore and I _really_ didn't feel like going to my classes, or even work after words. I was tempted to just roll back over, snuggle up with my boyfriend and catch another ten minuets of sleep. Unfortunately, I knew all to well that if I didn't wake up right here and now, I wouldn't wake up again until noon. That meant missing all of my classes, and I couldn't afford to do that.

I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes and yawning. Once again the desire to flomp back down hit me, but I forced myself up anyway. Looking at the clock, I realized it was only about six in the morning. Masaya would have just enough time for a shower, a bit of breakfast, and he could make it to his seven o'clock class. My first one started at eight, but I wanted to cook for him, so I got up anyway.

"Masaya?" I shook his shoulder lightly. "Masaya, wake up."

His eyes opened lightly, glazed and unfocused. My dear boyfriend moved his head lightly; half focused on me, then greeted me in a loving and caring way. "Go away."

And he fell back onto his pillow and went back to sleep.

"Wake up!" I protested, shaking him again. This time I managed to make him sit up and rub the sleep from his eyes. "Get a shower, you stink."

"I love you, too…" He crawled out of bed behind me, stumbled once, and then made his way to the bathroom. "Thanks for waking me…" He was still almost asleep.

I smiled to myself, also getting out of bed and padding softly to his closet to look for some cloths to wear for the day. Discarding my long sleep shirt, I decided on a tight fitting knitted sweater along with low cut blue jeans. Smiling at the mirror, I picked up a brush and began combing the knots from my hair where I didn't dry it properly last night.

"Have a good day!" I smiled up at him. "I'll be here for dinner, so I'll cook tonight."

"Thanks, Ichigo." He smiled down at me before leaning down and kissing me. "I'm off then."

I blushed, grinning. "Bai bai!"

The door closed lightly and I heard him run off to his class. I giggled to myself, bringing my hand up to my mouth to cover it a bit. "It's like we're married or something, nya."

Walking into the living room, I fell down onto the couch and cut on the T.V., deciding to kill some time before heading off onto my day as well.


	10. Trouble in College? Ichigo's Long day!

Well, so far things have been really well for me today. Thanks to my dorm room being blown to bits and losing all of my stuff, my teachers so far had given me the entire back month of assignments to re-do. I could pick and choose which assignments I wanted to re-do and even come in at certain times fro the test.

Of course, the downside was I had to remake an entire _month _of assignments from three different classes, on top of the new work we were doing, all while saving the planet and working forty hours a week on my job.

Yummy.

**College Mew Mew 10**

**By: Satashi**

I sighed walking through the doors to the café at my usual time right after my Japanese Literature class. Masaya was busy talking to his professors, so I wasn't going to meet him for lunch like we normally did. It suited me fine, though, as I was really tired and had grown accustomed to eating a bite here, then heading upstairs to sleep off the rest of the two hour break after my last class and the start of my work day.

"You look more tired than usual," Keiichiro greeted me as he set the chairs down from the table tops. "Long day?"

"Extremely. I have so much work to do its stupid." I took the sheets from the front pouch on my backpack and handed them to him. "Look at this. I can remake any of the listed assignments, including test."

"That's really nice of them."

"While still learning what's going on now, when I keep missing classes because of being a Mew Mew, and working."

He smiled lightly. "I can see where you're coming from. I'm sure we can hire someone else if you want to-"

"No, no." I protested him, waving it off. "This has always been a mew mew business, even though you and Ryou own it, I always look at it as my special place too. I could never have anyone else here work for me."

What I said must have hit a spot in him, because his smile lit up even brighter than I had ever seen it. "Why don't you run upstairs to get some studying done, I'll bring you a good lunch in a few moments."

"Thanks a lot, Keiichiro." I blew him a kiss as I trotted around the corner and up the stairs to Ryou's bedroom, which was halfway open. Knocking on it as I entered, I found Ryou on his bed, propped against the wall reading.

"That time already?" He asked, looking over the top of his current novel at me.

"I'm early." I flopped down at his desk and proceeded to take it over by placing my books upon it. "I'm stealing your desk today."

"I noticed. What are you doing?"

I had more or less taken over his room in the afternoons, usually using his bed for my cat naps while he helped set up the café for lunch hour. Today, however, I decided to skip my nap and get started on marking the things I needed to learn for each class and trying to set dates that I could make things up by. If I got everything organized, I would be able to do this a lot easier.

"Ichigo?"

"Oh, sorry, I got lost for a moment there. I'm organizing things. Thanks to being a mew mew, I've missed a lot of classes. Thanks to my dorm room being attacked, the teachers are letting me make up my work. If I do well on these, and still keep up with what's going on now, I can pull up my grades and possibly still pass after all!"

"You have a few months to worry about passing or failing still." He picked up my print outs of the assignments. "Introduction to College Chemistry, Japanese Literature, and World History, huh?

"Yeah, I don't have to do anything for Track. As long as I do well in the competitions, I'll get my credit for it."

Ryou picked up my chemistry book and flipped through it. "This stuff is easy."

"Easy!? Excuse me, but I study a lot and it still boggles my mind. I can't handle all these different people and their theories, and why and how they work, and…"

"Look here," He pointed at a picture of someone. "Who is this?"

"Err…"

"He looks like a subway pervert doesn't he?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought when I first saw him too." I couldn't help but giggle.

"This is Freud. His philosophy is everything has to do with sex. See here?" He pointed to a chart next to him. "According to this, the first stage of life when you're a baby, you're in the 'anal' section of life, where everything is centered on you."

"And how am I supposed to remember that easily?"

He thumped my head. "Listen, idiot, Freud. Looks perverted, is perverted, he's the sex guy. All you got to do is connect the people to something, and then it's easy to recall information. So you have to…Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Will you tutor me?"

"Wha!?"

"Honey, I'm home!" Masaya's playful voice called out playfully to me as he entered into his apartment, tossing his backpack next to the couch and falling down onto it. "Wow, I'm sore. The entire Kendo team ganged up on me today to make sure I didn't lose any skill while being away."

"Did you kick their butts?" I asked him, mainly concentrating on measuring out some flour.

"Of course."

"Then why are you so sore?"

He laughed. "I never said they didn't kick back did I?"

Letting out a small chuckle, I opened his refrigerator. "I went shopping today after work for some food stuff. You're empty on almost everything. All you had in your 'fridge was beer and ranch dressing."

"Beer's not mine. Mark drinks it when he comes over."

"Sure, Hun, keep telling yourself that." I walked over to him and pecked his cheek by leaning over the couch. "Even nature boy has to party sometimes."

"C'mere!" He grabbed my shoulders and pulled my forward, making me scream out. Halfway over the couch and upside down, I found my shirt fall forward a little bit and his fingers dance across my ribs and stomach. "Tickle tickle!"

"S-Stop! Mas-Masa-haha- stop-STOP!"

"Noooo" He held me tight with one arm, pinning my arms above my head and leaving me helpless. I couldn't stop laughing, flailing my feet behind me as I tried to somehow get back onto the ground. Finally managing to wiggle my way backwards, I started to slip away from him. "You can't escape!" He taunted, tightening his hold on me, making me sequel at him more and try to curse at him, but laughing too hard to do so.

Finally managing to literally slide from his grasp, I fell to the floor behind the couch and leaned against it, panting hard trying to regain my breath. "I'm…going to…kill you…as soon…as I can …breathe again…"

"No you're not, you love me." He was leaning over the couch, looking down at me, smiling. "Plus, you're so much fun to tease." He rubbed one of my cat ears, which must have sprang up sometimes during the last minute.

"I don't think I love you anymore, tickling isn't fair."

"I think it is." He was still smiling.

"Fine then, no more kisses for you." I stuck out my tongue."

"Hey, that's not fair." He pouted at me.

"And no more seeing me out of the shower. Or snuggling. Or back rubs."

"Okay, okay, I won't tickle you anymore."

"Promise?"

"No." He fell over the couch and pinned me, ticking my stomach again.

"Ma-Masaya! I hate youuuuahahahaha"

"So, what do you want for your birthday?" I asked Masaya as I pulled on one of my favorite sleeping shirts. It went down to my knees and was very baggy, which made it perfect to sleep in.

"Birthday? Oh man, I almost forgot about it. Um, I don't know. Nothing really. I'm happy as it is."

"Oh that helps." Jumping on his bed, I made myself comfortable under the covers and watched him take off his shirt before cutting off the lights. One neat thing about having cat genes in me was the ability to see in the dark, even if everything was tinted light green. Watching him disregard his jeans in favor of some shorts, I gave him a "rawr" sound, making him almost trip and fall on his way to the bed. "Some champion of justice you are, can't even walk to bed without falling."

"Says the girl that trips over a wireless phone."

"That only happened once." I laughed at him as he got under the covers, immediately wrapping an arm over his waist and curing against his back. My tail settled down behind me as I closed my eyes, preparing to sleep.

"One thing I'd like for a present…"

"Hmmm?" I was already dozing off lightly.

"I wouldn't mind spending more time with you," he voiced out, finding my hand and holding it.

I smiled to myself and planted a small kiss on the base of this neck. "I'll see what I can do."

A/N: Yeah, sorry it's short. Not much time to write and I didn't want to go two days without updating. I'll try and make chapter 11 longer than normal, so look forward to that. == Till then, nyan


	11. Love Troubles? The Misunderstanding!

Dancing around Mint, I made my way over to the table waiting for me and sat down their plates. Turning, I caught the last plate literally thrown at me by a falling Lettuce and sat it down as well, already used to the amazed looks usually given to us. "Please enjoy your meal." I bowed lightly at them before turning to walk off and greet a nice looking blond girl at the door. "Welcome! May I show you to a table?"

"Um, actually I…" I blinked at her, she was speaking English. "Oh, sorry," She continued in Japanese. "I'm looking for Masaya, is he here?"

…eh?

**College Mew Mew 11**

**By: Satashi**

"Masaya?" I asked, slightly confused. The girl nodded, smiling. I couldn't help but feel my cheeks burn a little bit at how pretty she was. Instantly my mind got worried. Who was this girl? Why did she want to see _my_ Masaya?

"He told me to come find him here. In England."

She flew from _England_to see him!?

"Is this…Not Café Mew Mew on Tokyo University campus?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." I bowed lightly, too confused to think straight. "Masaya isn't here... Can I take a message?"

"I'm, not supposed to let anyone know I'm here for him, so it'll be okay." She smiled at me. "We're keeping it a secret from someone, so don't say anything about a foreigner, please?"

"Oh…Oh, I see…okay…"

The girl weaved at me before running out of the café, and away into campus.

"Ichigo? Ichigo, geeze, how long you going to stand there and space out?" Mint put her hands on her hips. "I'm amazed you're still in school, as much as you space out. I bet Masaya gets really annoyed with that too- Ah, Ichigo!?"

I shoved past her and ran through the café, past Keiichiro and Zakuro in the kitchen and around the corner and up the stairs. Barging into the familiar room of Ryou, I tossed myself onto his messed up bed and buried my face into the pillow. My mind was reeling. Maybe I was just insecure? Maybe I was over reacting? This wasn't like me, I should know better than to doubt anything…

"You okay?" Ryou's voice was concerned, but light all at the same time. His hand rubbed my head, which I didn't even realize had sprouted cat ears.

"I don't know," I replied, face still buried. "…Do you think I'm a bad girlfriend?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know…"

"You're not making any sense," He complained to me, sighing. I looked up at him and sniffed. Seeing me, he softened a little and rubbed one of my ears. "You must be over worked. Why don't you go home early? I'll fill in for you."

I nodded lightly and pulled myself up in his bed, looking down. "I think I'm just too stressed out… all of this work, I'm over thinking things that I shouldn't be, jumping to conclusions…"

He smiled at me, helping me off his bed and walking me to the door. "Go on, take the day off, and don't do anything at all. We can study some tomorrow, it'll all work out."

Smiling up at him, I nodded, agreeing. "Thanks. I'll do that."

Hopping off my bike, I clicked down the lock on the long row of other people's bicycles. I smiled to myself, seeing Masaya's. I felt really dumb to doubt him like I did. Putting on a smile, I walked to our building and walked up the stairs. When I was halfway up I stopped, hearing Masaya's voice.

"Brittany! What are you doing here!?"

"You weren't at the café, so I came to your address."

Looking up the stairs, I saw the girl hug Masaya. "I'm glad to see you too, but you could be seen here! This isn't the best place."

"Sorry, I forgot to set my watch back."

"Well, Ichigo won't be back for a while, and I was counting on her to be with Mark for the night, but I haven't been able to speak with her yet. Oh, where are my manors? Come in, come in."

I swallowed thickly. I was…supposed to be with Mark tonight? So… she could…come here? But…that didn't make sense…I…

My phone rang. I clicked it on and brought it to my ear. "H-Hello?"

"Ichigo!" It was Masaya. "I'm sorry, but can I ask a favor?"

"Yes…?"

"Can you meet Mark somewhere for me? You see-"

I clicked off my phone. Turning, I walked away, past my bike, and to no where. A drop of rain hit my nose, making me blink, but I didn't care. I just kept walking.

The day passed by me as I walked, not really understanding any of it. Who was that girl? Why was she with Masaya? Why was I supposed to meet Masaya's best friend and hang out with him for the night?

Night…?

I looked up in the rain. It was already night time. Now what? My legs hurt and I felt sick. Go to the apartment? No…I can't go there. Home? It's too far from school, even if tomorrow was one of the days I didn't have classes. I couldn't get there without my bike. Mint's house? No, she would worry too much about me and make fun of me…

_You can come stay here if you ever get lonely. I don't have a lot to entertain with, but it's always a choice._

My feet headed in the direction on the café.

I unlocked the front door with the key Keiichiro had given me and stepped inside slowly, shivering. It was dark inside the room, and everything was already set for the night. I felt a cold rush over me and I closed the door, locking it. My sneakers squeaked on the floor as I walked to the other side of the restaurant and then turned the corner and up the stairs.

Walking into Ryou's room, I caught him in the middle of reaching for a shirt to put on. He looked like he was going to ask what I was doing, but apparently after seeing me, he closed his mouth.

Silent, I walked over to him and touched his shirt. He turned around. I peeled my wet shirt off of me and let it fall to the floor. Following came my jeans, which I had to pull forcefully off thanks to the rain. I then picked up his shirt and slid it on before walking to his bed and getting in it. Facing the wall, I sniffed. A moment later, the light was cut off and Ryou patted my head. "Sleep. We'll talk tomorrow."

The door closed and I pulled the covers around me. My phone rang, but I pulled the covers tighter, trying to warm up.

"You have a fever," Ryou told me as he took the thermometer from my mouth and looked at it. My cheeks burned and my body shivered, despite being under a few blankets. "Idiot, walking in the rain like that when it's so cold outside…"

"…Sorry…"

He softened, looking at me worriedly. "What's wrong?" His hand moved the bangs from my eyes. His touch was kind; gentle. Not at all like it normally was; teasing and playful.

"I don't know…"

"You said that yesterday. Is it something with Masaya?"

"How can you tell?"

He held up my cell phone. "You have twenty six missed calls, all from him, and he called here several times as well, worried sick about you. Mint even said that he called her, Lettuce, Pudding, and Zakuro at three in the morning when he couldn't find you."

I didn't know what to say about that… "Am…I a bad girlfriend?"

"Again with that question…What's wrong?"

"I don't know…"

He sighed. "I'm going to have to call him and see what's up. You stay here." He placed a cloth over my head. "I'll come to check on you later."

"Sure…"

I watched the door close and sighed. "I'm sleepy…"

"You're awake." I opened one eye and saw Pudding in front of me, holding my hand. "I heard you were sick, so I came."

"Thanks, I'm fine. Just a cold." I smiled at her lightly. "How's Tart?"

"He'll be fine. Their technology is way ahead of ours. He'll be good as new in another day. Pai came and told me after Tart apparently wouldn't shut up about me." She smiled and blushed. "I still owe him a candy drop."

I squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "You two would make a cute couple." The words hurt my heart to say. "Pudding, I'm getting sleepy again…"

"I see." She patted my hand. "I'll be off then. Sleep well."

"Thanks."

"Ichigo? Ichigo."

I opened my eyes slowly. "Eh…"

"There you are."

I looked at the voice, still sleepy. "Ma-masaya…"

"I was worried sick!" He scolded me, before flinching and calming down. "I was so worried about you…"

I took my hand from him and rolled over.

"Ichigo…?"

"Can I come in?"

"Ah, Brittany, come on."

My heart throbbed, and I felt my tail lash out behind me. I pulled the sheets over my head to cover my ears.

"Bad time to meet, but I guess it'll do." Masaya spoke. "Ichigo, this is Brittany. I met her in England."

Go away…I can't take this…I can't…

"Brittany, this is Ichigo, my Kitten."

My eyes snapped open.

"I didn't know it was you I met when I first came here," Brittany spoke to me as I peeked out from the covers. "He has told me so much about you, I feel as though I've known you for years."

"I…don't understand…" I spoke, sitting up. My ears were gone now.

"She came down to see her boyfriend, Mark. They met in England. It's his birthday today. We're having a party for him tonight. I flew her down here to see him as my gift."

_Haven't talked to Ichigo yet… She needs to be with Mark…_

Mark always came over to Masaya's house…that would make it the worst place for Brittany to hide…

A tear came to my eye, then another.

"Ichigo?"

I flung myself on him and clawed at his shirt, trying to make him as close to me as possible, crying so hard it began to hurt to breathe.

"Um… I'll be down in a bit." Masaya told her, uneasily.

"Of course."

"Ichigo? What's the matter honey? Are you okay? You still feel bad?"

I didn't answer, only pulled him into the bed with me and clutched him tightly, burring my face into his chest and crying freely.

I'm not sure how long I clawed at him, pulling him closer, but it must have been a long time, as my arms were tired and my sobbing had quieted down to small sniffs and hiccups. "…I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked softly, stroking my hair.

"I'm a horrible girlfriend…"

His hand paused a moment. Apparently I shocked him. "No you're not, don't say things like that. You just worried me last night, I shouldn't have-"

"No…not that…" I looked up at him. I must look as horrible as I felt. My eyes burned and my cheeks were still hot. My boy was weak and I knew my hair was a frightful mess after sleeping with it wet all day long. "I thought…I thought that you…you and Brittany…were…were…"

He was confused for a long moment before it dawned on him just what I meant. "What? No, never, I mean she's like my sister. And she's Mark's girlfriend. And, just, no way!"

I pulled him close. "I'm such an idiot…"

"You mean the world to me, Kitten."

I sniffed. "Really?"

"Yeah. Really." He pulled back enough to make me look up at him. Leaning forward, he kisses my eye, taking a tear away. "You know, you look kind of cute in a weird sort of way right now."

I couldn't help but choke out a small laugh and pull him close again. "Sorry. About everything."

"It was my fault for not telling you sooner what we had planned."

Downstairs I head everyone scream out a surprise and then Mark yell out Brittany's name in shock. "I made you miss it."

"He'll live." Masaya smiled down at me. "Right now, you're what's important."

"Aw..." I hugged him. "I don't deserve you."

"That's backwards, but I'll forgive you anyway." He kissed my forehead. "Come on, I'll go say hi to Mark then take you home. Sound good?"

"Yeah, thanks." I smiled at him lightly, which he returned. "I love you, Masaya."

"You too Hun." He smiled. "You too."

A/N: Sorry for the delays on updating. Work sucks sometimes, ya know? Anyway, please review. More reviews I get, the more I'll write. == I hope you enjoyed.


	12. Feeling Bad? More Trouble Arrives!

Ugh... What was that sound? My cell phone...? Stop ringing.... Stop... stop... stop... Dammit, it's not stopping. Groaning, I rolled out from under Masaya's arm and stumbled over to my cell phone. The ground tilted and I suddenly remembered why I went to bed so early. I still felt terribly sick. Clicking on my phone, I growled into it. "Who is this and why are you calling me at three in the morning?"

**College Mew Mew 12**

**By: Satashi**

"Ichigo," A loud cracking noise was heard. It was Zakuro. "I hate to interrupt your beauty sleep, but we're kind of fighting right now." Another crack of a whip.

"Where?"

"Fifth Street, by the river."

"On my way." I clicked off my phone. "Mew Mew strawberry! Metamorphosis!"

"Ichigo...?" Masaya was waking up, dazed and befuddled at what was going on. "Wha...?"

"I have to go to work, nyan." I smiled at him weakly.

He stumbled out of bed and quickly shook his head and rubbed his face harshly. "Okay, I'll go, you get in bed."

"I have to." I ran to the door, with him on my heels. "They're on Fifth Street!"

The door to our apartment came open easily and we were out in the street quickly. "Blue Abyss! Metamorphosis!"

The Blue Knight rushed next to me and scooped me up into his arms. Gasping, I was about to ask what was going on, but the world shifted around me and the next moment I found myself in the middle of the battle zone. "This way is faster."

"I see." I was set down, but I stumbled over. "I feel hot..."

"You're still too sick!"

"Jump!"

I leapt into the air, alongside the Blue Knight, but my leap was short, and I felt the explosion under me, sending me off course and falling roughly onto the ground. My cheeks burned, and it was hard to breathe. I wanted to just lay and sleep.

I didn't know what type of Chimera Anima we were fighting, but I knew that I had to get up and try to fight it. Pushing myself to a standing position, I felt someone grab around my waist and dash to the side, making me miss the blast that exploded where I just was.

"If you can't protect her, I'll have to take her from you." My vision was a little off, but I could still make out Kish holding me in his arms, glaring at Masaya like venom.

"Let her go and call off your Anima."

"It's not mine. I just want came because I thought there was a Mew Aqua."

Pai teleported down. "It's taken care of. Obviously it was to just piss us off when we should be sleeping."

"Then let's leave." Kish leaned down to kiss me, but stopped short. "Ichigo! You're burning up!"

I didn't want to answer, but I nodded anyway. "Yeah, I'm not really feeling well..."

"Come with me, we will fix you good as new!" Kish flew into the air lightly.

"No!"

"Eh?" He looked hurt. "Why?"

"I, er, rather stay here, if it's okay..." I tried to smile. "A few days of rest and I'll be fine. Just a cold."

"Is there...anything I can do for you?"

I laughed softly. "You can cause some havoc on campus so they'll cancel classes for me." Looking up at him, I continued. "But, really, please let me down so I can go back to bed?"

"...Okay..." He floated back down, where the Blue Knight was waiting, not patiently at all. "Here you go." Handing me over to Masaya, he glared at him. "I'm coming back in two days. If she isn't better, I'm going to kill you."

"Try it, elf boy."

Kish scoffed and hopped into the air. "Oh! Almost forgot!" In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Pudding. "Tart said to tell you 'hi' and he'd be stopping by for a candy drop later."

Pudding blushed. "O-Okay..."

"Till next time," He gave all of us a sort of friendly wave, and then flipped Masaya off before teleporting away.

I sank to my knees and sighed. "I think I'm going to throw up..."

"Ichigo? What are you doing?" Masaya scolded me as I swung my legs out of the bed and tried to stand. "You're still sick. You can't go to class today."

"I _have_ to," I replied, sleepily. I've missed so much, and I was given a chance to make it all up, I can't afford not to go." I wavered a bit, but caught myself. "Everyone else is trying hard too, I have to too."

"You're trying a lot harder than the others." He reminded me, trying to get me to lie back down. "You work almost double what they do at the café because of your schedule. That means each of them have several extra hours a day to study than you do. You can't keep pushing yourself like this. Now lay down or I'll lock you in the house."

"I have to go to class!" I protested again, before sneezing. My stomach lurched. "I dun feel good..."

"See?" He helped me to the bathroom, where I sank down. "You can't even get out of bed without getting sick."

Bleh....I feel _really _sick. "Masaya..."

"Yes?" He kneeled by me.

"Remember how that first night where the guys got you drunk and I held your head up all night long here?"

"...Yeah?"

"I think you're about to return the favor...." My stomach lurched again.

"What a great guy..." I mumbled as he put the covers around me.

"Ugh, at least I didn't know what was going on last time," he complained playfully. "Here, I'll cut on some music for you. Just rest."

"...Okay."

My eyes closed as he tapped his radio and fixed it to my favorite station. "...reports of the strange alien now known as "Kish" attacking the campus with a chimera of some sort. The Tokyo Mew Mew group has chased him off, but not before causing a near riot on campus. Needless to say, classes have been all cancelled for the day..."

I stared at the ceiling a little bit before voicing my thoughts. "I love that perverted alien freak."

Crouch. Look ahead. Focus on the space between the two white lines. Ready your legs. Wait.

I licked my lips.

The gun sounded and my legs responded instantly, shooting me forward. My eyes were set, and the long track narrowed down to just the space between my two white lines. The first corner came and I rounded it easily, turning on the oval track. My breathing was hard and white wisp of fog came out when I breathed. I could feel my cat ears come out thanks to my increased heartbeat, but they were under the baseball cap I had firmly on my head. My tail annoyed my greatly, going down the right pants leg of my wind suit and twitching when I bent my knee.

The only sound I could hear was my breath and the wind coming against me as the second turn came. Veering with the track, I also made it across and then back onto the straight away to the starting/finishing point. Crossing my white line, I slowed down and put my hands on my kneecaps, breathing hard.

"Congratulations, Ichigo, you were the first to finish."

I nodded at my coach and looked over at the bleachers, where my friends were celebrating. I had just won the right to compete in the college track team competition held at one of the most prestigious colleges in Japan.

Masaya looked at his watch and signaled to me frantically. Nodding, I gave him a silent 'I'll be right there.' Look. He grinned at me and ran away, followed closely by my other friends. "Coach..." I was still panting. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave class early..." I took another few puffs of air. "My boyfriend is competing...for kendo... at the same school..." I took a long breath and slowly let it out, making my heart slowly start to go back to normal and my breathing slowing down.

"Anything for my star runner." My coach patted my head. "But, Ichigo, I know you like to wear your cap and wind pants while running here, but the finals only allow standard issue running shorts. You need to get used to wearing them."

Oh no!

"Ichigo, you're late." Mint scolded me as I appeared in the large kendo gym. Several people were lined against the walls and in the stands, watching the school's team battle it out to see who the best was. "Masaya already won his first match."

I sat down and took the offered water from Pudding, who had skipped school to be with us today. "Thanks," I leaned forward, collecting myself. "I have a problem, but I'll talk about it at the café." I nodded over at everyone standing close by. "You know privet stuff."

"Right." Mint placed her hand on my shoulder. "Whatever it is, just let it go while cheering on Masaya, okay?"

"Of course!"

"Next up! Masaya! His opponent is Kevin, Kendo captain!"

"Good luck, going against the captain so soon," Zakuro spoke, making us all turn and gasp at her being there. "Now he won't be tired when he has to beat him later."

"You made it!" I gave her a hug. "I'm so glad. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Filming is taking a lot of time," She whispered down to me, winking. "But I'm taking the week off for your competition and Masaya's as well."

"Ready? Begin!"

I turned my eyes on the match.

Kevin attacked first, a hard swing that Masaya easily blocked and countered. Kevin sidestepped the attack and returned it with an attack to the chest, which was ducked by bending straight backwards. The audience gasped and applauded the feat.

Masaya spun around and swept kicked, only to be jumped and attacked from above. Rolling, he managed to avoid the attack and come up with his own, getting deflected.

"Face!" Kevin called, successfully hitting Masaya's face mask. Both stopped, bowed and kneeled, waiting for the second round.

"First point! Blue! Contestants ready! Round two! Begin!"

Masaya stood still, holding a basic defensive stance. Seeing this, Kevin lunged forward, but missed as his opponent spun at the last moment. "Back!" his sword connected with Kevin's backside, thus gaining him a point as well.

"Second point! Red! Contestants ready! Round three! Begin!"

Masaya took the preempt attack this time and lunged out, slashing down hard. Kevin blocked the swing and countered with a side kick, narrowly missing its intended target. Back flipping, Masaya twisted in the air and landed in a crouch, losing the kendo style swordsman stance and holding his boken with one hand, parallel to the ground.

"That stance!"

"The Blue Knight," I whispered eyes large.

Kevin ran forward and attacked, but was easily dodged. Masaya neatly spun away, as if he was playing around. Attacking again, Masaya blocked and slashed upwards, knocking the boken from Kevin's grasp and making it spin into the air. Leaping up after it, Masaya caught the weapon in mid spin and landed, bringing both swords to Kevin's neck.

"...Surrender."

Masaya turned the sword, handle toward his opponent, which he took. Each took a step back, bowed, and kneeled.

"Last Point! Red! Winner, Masaya!"

"He did it!" I shouted, jumping up from my seat and bouncing in spot until he stepped off the mat. From there I ran over to him and tackled him in a hug, getting spun around. "Congratulations! You beat the captain! Now no one can stand in your way!"

"Thanks for your support," he replied, leaning down to kiss me. Several cat calls jeered out at us, but I kissed him anyway, blushing and smiling.

"Sure you don't want to come?" Masaya asked me as several students were yelling and celebrating. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"No, no I have to study. You go ahead." I undid the necklace from its clasp and stood on my tip-toes, fastening it around Masaya's neck. "Just make sure all the girls know that you already have a pet kitten." I flicked the bell, and grinned up at him. "Unless you're too ashamed to wear my bell to a party?"

"Not at all." He rubbed my hair. "I'll be home late."

"Masaya! Come on man!" Mark shouted from his jeep, which was overfilled with people as it was, all yelling loudly and a few already drinking.

"Coming!" He shouted back, running off, giving me a wave half way through and jumping onto the back of the jeep and then being pulled in. "Let's roll!"

"Woohoo!"

"Frat Party?" Zakuro asked me as I waved at them, even if no one was looking my way.

"Yup. He doesn't go out much, but all of his friends drag him away sometimes." I laughed to myself. "Once he and Mark got so drunk they started singing Christmas carols in the middle of summer."

Zakuro laughed. "Somehow with those two I can believe it."

"I didn't know Masaya drank," Lettuce voiced up, coming up behind us.

"Oh he doesn't. They'll force three beers on him and he'll be out cold before the last is done."

All of us experienced a good laugh on his behalf.

"So what's up?" Ryou asked, sitting on a table and crossing his legs. The last of the customers had left and Keiichiro was locking the door.

"Is there anyway to suppress my cat genes? Like, not have my ears and tail come up?"

"Why this all of a sudden?" Mint asked as she drank her tea. "Almost every time I see you at home you have your ears out."

"Oh, I see," Lettuce brought her hand to her mouth, as if just realizing something horrible. "You can't wear your hat or pants in the track run, can you?"

I shook my head slowly, looking down. "If I can't find someway to keep my ears from coming out when my heart beats fast...I can't run anymore..."

A silence moved over the room as everyone thought about what to do. I sighed and laid my head down onto the table.

"Maybe...we can tell the judges that she has a skin condition and has to have her legs covered?"

"Then I won't qualify for the race," I replied, head still down. "You have to be in good health to run. Plus everyone knows I wore running shorts until I became a Mew Mew again."

Another silence passed over. "Well..."

Slowly I lifted my head up and looked at Zakuro, who had spoken. "Yes?"

She sat on the table and crossed her legs, placing a hand on my head. "You could always say they are a good luck charm from a little sister or cousin that is sick and wants you to wear them while you race."

"...that's dumb enough to work."

"Ichigo! Ichigoooooooooooo! Come and answer the dooooooorrrrrrr!"

I opened the door to my apartment, half dressed and rubbing one of my eyes, trying to rid it of sleep. "What is it Mark..." I yawned.

"Whoa! She's sexy!"

I suddenly realized that along with Mark was a goofy looking Masaya as well as half the kendo team. Blushing furiously I darted behind the door, as I was only wearing a waist length shirt and shorts that were too short to even be considered wearing outside. Peeking around the door, I blushed more.

"Special delivery." Mark stated, helping Masaya inside.

"Hi Kitten," He slurred, grinning dumbly.

"How many did he have?" I asked him, taking Masaya from his shoulders and letting him lean on me while he laughed at nothing.

"Four." Mark replied happily. "He kind of didn't want to drink any at all, but you know how the guys get.

"Come on Marky!" One of the guys protested our talk. "We still have to hotwire the bus and drive it around town!"

"You're going to get arrested," I warned him.

"We're not really going to do it," He winked at me, fully sober and obviously the dedicated driver. "I'm taking them all home now."

"We're not going home!"

"Sure, sure," Mark pushed them out when a few wanted to come into my apartment. "Take care of him, and be sure he takes some medicine before he goes to sleep."

"Right." I waved at him as he ushered the large group down the walkway of our complex. Closing the door, I looked at Masaya, who was smiling at me.

"You're pretty."

"Ugh, your breath _reeks_." I fanned my face. "Come on; let's get you cleaned up and into bed."

"I dun want to sleep," He protested, trying to nuzzle my neck. "I want to be with you."

"I'll be there too, but you're not getting any snuggling done until you get a bath, phew."

"Kevin sprayed me." He shook up an imaginary can and pretended to pop the top of it, just to emphasize what he said. "Got all over me."

"I see." I couldn't help but laugh lightly. I had only seen Masaya drunk twice before, and each time I would have killed for a camera. "Come now, let's take a shower...No, honey, that's the closet. Over here. Good boy."

"Ughh.... Turn off the light..." I sat up lightly in bed and looked over at my boyfriend, who was holding his head and covering his eyes. "Ugggghhh....."

"Well, well, learned a lesson last night didn't we?" I asked, making him wince.

"Not so loud..."

I laughed. "Idiot." I patted his chest. "I'll get you some medicine. Stay in bed."

"Ughhhh....."

I smiled to myself as I poured him a glass of water. I don't know why, but it felt nice taking care of him for a change. Sitting back down on the bed, I helped him sit up. "Here, take this." I put the glass in his hand and helped guide it to his lips, as his eyes were still closed against the light coming in from the window. "How's that? Wasn't so bad was it?"

"Nah," He leaned against me, smiling. "You're warm."

"It's just cold in here," I replied, blushing a little. "We need to start dressing warmer or one of us might get sick."

"Yeah." He opened one eye and smiled. "You're hairs messed up."

Laughing lightly, I couldn't help but smile down at him. "You're an idiot, you know that?"


	13. Kish and Incred's Past? A Battle of Rage...

I never was really good at picking out birthday gifts. For some reason nothing ever seemed to be good enough for what I wanted to express. After knowing the girls for so long I always had a kind of hunch of what they would like. Masaya on the other hand was a different story. He was mature, kind, and would like anything I got him. This, of course, meant I had to get something especially good if I wanted to impress him with a gift.

**College Mew Mew 13**

**By: Satashi**

Looking around the store, I found many things that he would like. They ranged from small statues of animals done in a fine art fashion to pictures on canvas of birds and pretty scenery. Picking up a picture frame, I tried to imagine what type of picture would look good in it.

Placing the frame back down, I shifted my purse lightly as I continued to browse. It was a small shop I was in, nice and warm on a cold day. Truthfully I had originally ducked into here to escape the harsh breeze outside but now I realized just how cute of a little shop this was.

It was old looking with wooden floors and walls, giving it a homey feeling to it. Smiling, I picked up another small frame and looked at it. Around the corners was some type of cub that looked like the iromote wildcat that I had inside of me. Deciding to keep it, I continued to look around a bit before walking up to the cash register and handing it to the old man behind it.

He gave me a kind goodbye as I walked out the door and into the wind. I had to close one eye as some of my hair was blown into it. Using my free hand, I pulled my hair behind my ear and continued to walk down the street. It was a pleasant day; the sun was shining, random fluffy white clouds passed overhead and the brisk air felt good to breathe. The only downfall was the cold front coming through that gave us all this wind and a sudden drastic drop in temperatures.

On a day like this, I wanted to be in a nice home with a fireplace to sit by while reading a good book. Unfortunately, there was no way I could afford a house at the current moment, and Masaya just moved into his apartment a few months ago. Needless to say, I won't be having that dream become reality anytime soon.

As I walked, a flyer caught my attention on the wall next to me. Pausing to look at it, I realized it was an advertisement for the local zoo. Apparently there was going to be the annual contact time in a few days. Smiling, I looked at the date and made a mental note to ask Masaya if he would like to go to it.

"Ah, Ichigo,"

I looked at the sound of the voice and saw Zakuro walking over to me. Giving her a smile, I bowed lightly to her. "Zakuro. What brings you out here?" She fell into step beside me as I walked and placed her hands into her jacket pockets to keep them warm.

"I'm not needed at the studio today, and the café is being covered by Pudding, Mint, and Ryou so I am just looking around. How about you? Is there any reason for you to be on this side of town?"

"Birthday shopping." I held up the small bag I was carrying and showed her the picture frame. "I don't know what to get him, but I thought this was cute so I'm going to throw it in as an extra gift." Placing it back into the bag, I let out a small sigh. "I've been looking all day and I don't even have anything to show for it yet..."

"Hmmm... How about adding a little flare to your birthday gift?" Zakuro smiled down at me in a mischievous kind of way. Winking at me, she held up a finger. "I know of this one place that is sure to make any guy happy. Why don't we try it out?"

"Eh? Where is that?"

Unlocking the door to my apartment, I stepped in slowly. I looked around a bit before walking to the bedroom, where I quickly went to the closet and stashed the pink bag with his two gifts and a certain something 'extra' that Zakuro had convinced me into buying. Blushing at the thought, I walked back into the bedroom and almost screamed as Masaya walked in as well from the living room.

"Ichigo? You okay?" He looked puzzled. "Did I scare you? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, you okay?"

"Eh? I'm not hiding anything!"

"I didn't say you...Ah! You got me a present didn't you? Where is it, can I see it?!"

"No!" I blushed darkly and pushed him out of his own bed room and kept on until he fell down onto the living room couch, where I sat in his lap to keep him from getting up. "We are going to watch some T.V. for a while, until you forget about your gift."

"Aw come on, it's only a day away. What is it?"

"Nothing!" I blushed more and lay back against him. "Let's just relax for a change." Picking up the remote for the T.V., I turned it on and began to flip through the channels, stopping on the news.

Kish flew across the screen, slamming into Yosuke and forcing him into the side of a building, cracking it. The slightly younger boy grit his teeth and pushed back, igniting the area around him on fire, forcing Kish back.

"Figures," I complained hopping off of my boyfriend and to my feet. Calling out my words, I felt my body shift in a warm and pleasing sense. My hearing grew better as cat ears came up through my hair, which was turning pink. I felt my tail grow and twitch as it was blessed with a ribbon and bell. My jeans faded away and were replaced by a soft silk like material and knee high latex boots that laced themselves tightly. Finally opening my eyes, I purred as the transformation was over.

"Let's go," Masaya stated simply, wrapping his arms around my waist. I felt a power surge from him and blond hair splash around my vision. His grip on me tightened and the world blurred around us as we teleported to the battle zone.

Landing, I was sat on the ground in time to see Kish clip Yosuke's temple with a new type of nightstick that had blades going down the side instead of metal. The flame master's eyes rolled back in his head and teleported away before even hitting the ground. Kish noticed us then and before we could react, started to run at us.

Somehow I managed to suppress my surprise and readied myself for a battle. Kish, however, shot right between us and crashed into the window of a jewelry store and setting off its alarm. I realized what was going on and ran after him, being slightly outrun by the blue knight next to me.

Kish smirked at us and teleported outside the store and crushed the object eh was holding before swiping his hand and holding up a clear small bottle that shone bright blue. "Such pure elements in the middle of the city," He said amazed. "I had no idea a mew aqua could be created in such a place."

"Give it here, Kish." Masaya threatened him, drawing his sword.

"I don't think so," Kish responded bitterly as he started to float into the air. "This is over for the day."

"Kiiiishhhuuuuuuuu!" The green haired alien was floored by a large lightning bolt. He crashed into the concrete below so hard it actually split around him and I felt a small trimmer below my feet. Incred landed on top of him, grabbing his arms and pulling back harshly, dislocating Kish's right shoulder.

"Strawberry Check!" I swung my bell and launched the attack that slammed into the newcomer and made him roll across the ground a few times before he righted himself and glared at me. "The Mew Aqua belongs to us!" I pointed at him. "Don't get in our way!"

Masaya made an impressed sound next to me before we both took off to Kish, who just slammed his shoulder into the nearest car by him to set it. Letting out a yell of pain, he managed to regain use of his arm just in time to slash at the Blue Knight when he got close enough.

"Kish is mine!" Incred shouted angrily, suddenly behind me. I choked out as his arm went around my neck and literally lifted me off the ground. Coughing, I swung out my legs trying to find something, anything, to push up on. "Kish! This is revenge!" He yelled out. "For killing my parents, I'll kill your lover!"

Kish's eyes flared and before I knew it I was ripped from the choker hold and spun around, being teleported away next to Masaya. Collapsing and gasping for air, I held my neck. Kish stood in front of me, emitting a sort of green glow around him. "Again with this... Again with this stupid rage." He suddenly yelled at Incred. "Incred, when will you realize that I-"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up shut _up_ dammit!" He ran forward, sword drawn and crackling with energy. "You killed them Kish! You killed them all! I want my revenge with your blood!"

Kish blocked the swing and took one back. Slashing with his other arm, he managed to cut Incred's arm, only to get pierced on his side. Hooking the blade under the shield of his nightstick, Kish jumped into the air and began to turn backwards for his signature back flipping kick. Incred twisted, however and also did the same attack faster.

I gasped as Kish was launched into the air. Incred didn't waste any time of raising his hand and shooting a lightning bolt straight into him. "Feel the pain, Kish!" Incred shouted, increasing the power of the lightning. "Feel the pain and suffering of everyone that you killed! Feel the pain that I've felt ever since you turned you back on me!"

Incred's stream of energy was cut off as a long gasp appeared on his chest. The Blue Knight skidded past him and slashed his sword, ridding it of the blood on the edge. Incred stumbled and held the wound, glaring. Kish's body fell to the ground, but he somehow managed to turn in a way where he would land on his feet

"Don't misunderstand," Masaya spoke coolly, crouching into a battle stance. "I didn't do it to save you; I didn't want the Mew Aqua to be damaged." He put his sword parallel to the ground and looked at them both with hatred. "Let's settle this right here, right now." A blue wisp of energy came around him, emitting a soft glow of power.

Incred didn't pay any attention to him. "Kish, give me that mew aqua drop right now or I _will_ kill you." He gripped his sword and made lightning arch around him. "You cannot defeat me, you never could. Just give me the drop and die easily. Once you're dead I'll leave this planet. After, of course, I kill that cat over there."

Why? Why does Incred hate me so much? Thinking back on it, he was always the first one to attack me, and when we split up, he was never far behind. Every time he would battle Kish if the Blue Knight wasn't there already and if so he would instantly come after me. I tried to get a read on him, looking hard at his face to try to get _something_ from him.

He... He was crying?

"For everyone!" Incred shouted out, running forward. "I'll kill you to avenge them all!"

"You're an idiot!" Kish yelled back, clashing blades with him. "How do you think _I_ feel about it, huh!? Do you think I _meant_ for it to happen!?" He brought up his arm and blocked another attack and kicked Incred away, only to charge again. "I turned on Deep Blue! I fought against our Messiah! I _died_ for this girl!"

"Only to come back and kill my family!" Incred countered. "You saw the Mew Aqua! You knew its power!" Incred shot a bolt of electricity into Kish, who screamed out but still attacked. "It's your fault they died! Because of your weakness you couldn't commence the plan to take back our planet! _Our_ planet Kish! We dreamed of that all our lives!"

"Then you should know how important this is!" Kish shouted back at him, a mist coming to his eyes as they clashed and cut into each other. "Incred, you know I didn't mean for it to happen! I didn't know the mew Aqua's power would dissolve over time! I only wanted to help!"

Incred's eyes went red and he slashed hard down into Kish's shoulder. "Well you didn't did you!? Damn you! Damn you Kish!" His attacks started getting slower and tears streamed down his cheeks. "Just let me hate you! Let me kill you!"

"You know it wasn't my fault," Kish spoke softly, lightly blocking the attacks and not counter attacking. "I'm fighting against her again, Incred...I'm trying to get more mew Aqua to bring back. This time we know how long they will last and no one will die because of it."

Incred fell to his knees and hit the ground. "Kish...Why did this have to happen? Why did the mew Aqua's power have to fade...?" I slowly walked over to them and leaned against a car next to Masaya who was also listening to them. "You just got back...Everyone was so happy. I remember you saying that Deep Blue was defeated, but you still got something for us all. You...You went to the surface, knowing nobody could withstand that kind of heat out there..."

"It was hot, but I had to do it," Kish picked up for him, kind of looking at me, as if explaining. "I flew into the air and released the power of the mew aqua. Everything went green and water started to flow. It was amazing. Clouds blocked out the intense heat from the sun and a kind of dome appeared over the area. Several miles were coated in a lush green forest. Plants, trees, insects, animals, they were all revived there..." he looked away.

"You came in and told us what happened. Everyone rejoiced for days on end, finally able to leave the underground caves we had thrived in for so long... It lasted seven years... Several glorious years... But then people started to try and crowd it, fighting over the new paradise. My family was there, as well as several hundred others when it happened..."

"When what happened?" I asked softly, making Kish turn to look at me. I gasped and brought my hand to my mouth. His eyes were stained with tears running down his face.

"The Mew aqua lost its power," He replied, voice so low it was almost inaudible. "It went away and instantly the sun's rays came down again. There was a panic...and everyone who didn't make it back underground..."

"They died." Incred finished. "My mother, my father, everyone..." He stood up. "I came here with the others to reclaim this planet. Kish was supposed to lead us, but he refused. Later, he vanished after stealing a spaceship to come back here. I was so mad...I was furious. My best friend left me and came to warn you before we could leave. I started to blame him for it. I started to hate him... I remembered him talking about a girl here, that smelt and tasted of strawberries which she got her name from. I thought he chose her over his own planet. Coming here, I saw him fighting against her, but I didn't accept it. I was too angry... and now..."

"It's okay, man." Kish spoke, walking over to him. "I understand. I didn't exactly go easy on you either..."

"So much for best friends..."

"Hey, all friends fight every now and then..."

Incred looked over at me and Masaya. "This isn't right...Taking your this planet back and hurting the people you care about too, all for our own reasons. It would be the same if we never left and humans came to invade..." He looked at Kish and wiped his eyes, putting on a grin that I never thought I'd see on his face. "Kish! Let's fight together again! We can collect the Mew Aqua's and return home! This time we'll know how to go about it and turn the entire planet beautiful!"

"Friends again?" Kish held out his arm.

"Friends!" Incred slapped his hand against his and the two shook firmly, grinning at each other.

"Well then," I smiled, wiping a tear from my eye. "We can settle this peacefully after all."

"We don't think so." All of us turned and looked into the air, where Kei, Black rose, and Saucer were all hovering several yards from the ground. "Incred, you have betrayed us as well?"

Incred looked up at them. "Guys! Let's just get the-"

"No!" Black rose shouted down at him. "This is our planet. We'll reclaim it."

"But-"

"Don't come back," Kei glared at him before all three of them disappeared.

"You can stay with us," Kish told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But first..." He took the aqua drop from his pouch and walked over to me. "Ichigo..."

"Yes?" I looked at the drop then to him. Was he going to give it to me? Kish leaned closer and held our the drop. Reaching for it, I squeaked as he snared my hand and pulled forward, forcing his lips onto mine. Blushing, I pulled back and tried to slap him. "Kish you perverted little freak! Don't do that!"

"Thanks for the kiss, Honey!" He replied, sticking his tongue out at Masaya, who was shaking in anger. "Till next time!" He waved and the pair of them disappeared.

"Bleh," I wiped my mouth. "Well this is an interesting day so far." I shivered in the wind.

"Mew Mew! A word! Please!" Suddenly I noticed several T.V. Cameras all around us, filming. "What exactly is going on? Who are those people? Who are you?"

"I, er, that is..." Smiling, I posed for them. "I'm Mew Ichigo! Don't worry, and just leave it all up to us!"

The Blue Knight sighed and shook his head, walking over to me. "Come on, little Kitty, let's go home before we're all over the newspapers." Placing an arm over my shoulder, he teleported us off.

A/N: FF.N is being mean and won't let me upload when I want to. So sorry for the delay ;


	14. Fun at the Zoo? Masaya's Birthday!

"Eh? Vacation?" I stopped pushing my broom and looked over at Ryou. "This is sudden, especially after today." It was already closing time at the café and only Ryou and I were left to finish up. Ryou because he lived here and me because, well, I was available. "Where do you want to go?"

**College Mew Mew 14**

**By: Satashi**

"Ski resort." He held up some tickets. "My friend works there, and it just opened up. Sent me a few tickets and told me he would reserve us some rooms if I wanted to take anyone." He handed me one of the slips of paper and I looked over it as he continued. "Its cold enough here as it is, but it would still be the perfect time to go skiing, don't you think?"

I nodded, thinking it over. "Yes, well, we do have a week of from college next week." I pondered this. "Fall break. We get a few weeks off for Christmas, but that isn't for another two months. Okay, sounds good. When do we leave?"

"This Sunday. Tomorrow is Saturday, that's a day you have off so the girls will come in for the lunch crowd. I can tell them then."

"Can Masaya come too?" I smiled at him as I pulled out a rag from a pouch in my dress and started helping him wipe down the tables.

"Yeah." He seemed a little disappointed for some reason, but shrugged it off. "You're helpless without him anyway. Wouldn't want you to fall down and hit a tree or anything."

"Mou! Idiot!" I threw my rag at him and sniffed. "I'm perfectly fine by myself."

Catching my attack, he smiled lightly. "You missed a spot," he threw it back at me.

"Welcome back," I greeted Masaya lazily as I flipped through the pages of my magazine while lying on the couch. My feet were propped where your back would usually go and my back was laid across the seat, so I was basically almost upside down. Walking past me, Masaya paused to look. I smiled up innocently at him. "What is it?"

"N-nothing..." He took a few more steps, then turned and looked back at me again, where I just smiled up at him sweetly. "I'm...going to take a shower..."

"Okay. Want me to fix you some dinner?"

"Er, yeah...please..." He stumbled a little and retreated to his bedroom, almost running into the doorframe as he did so. I stifled a laugh and crossed my legs at the ankles. He was so cute when he was shy. But then again, it wasn't everyday when you come home to your girlfriend wearing one of your unbuttoned dress shirts and not much else. Hearing the shower run, I rolled off the couch and went into the kitchen. Humming a song to myself, I began to take things from the cabinets and prepare a dinner for him.

I gasped lightly as I felt Masaya's arms snake around my stomach from behind. He pulled me back against him and kissed my neck lightly. Blushing, I traced his arms down to his fingers, where I gently pried them away from me so I could turn around and kiss him. "Not tonight honey." I winked. "Tomorrow's your birthday; I got us tickets to the zoo, so we need to be sure to get enough sleep so we can walk."

"I'll live," he kissed me again playfully and trailed his fingertips across my sides under my shirt, making me laugh. "That tickles."

"Where's the fun in it, if it doesn't tickle?" He asked mischievously before pushing me down on the bed and pinning my arms above me with one hand. "If I seem to recall correctly... you're ticklish...here." He slowly moved a single fingertip over my now exposed ribs.

"Kya!" I tried to wiggle out of his one handed grasp, but unfortunately I had particularly small wrist and his hands were large; well suited to grip a sword handle. "That's not fair. Pinning me up like this. Let me go and I'll give you something good..."

"I think you're lying," He teased me back, tickling me again for a second.

"Maybe...maybe not," I winked at him suggestively. "You may just enjoy this one."

"What is it?" he let me go, only to be pounced on and pinned himself.

"Revenge!" I attacked his ribs, making him squirm and laugh out under me.

"Mmm..." I sat up in bed and yawned, instantly shivering. "Stupid cold mornings," I muttered to myself. Stretching out, I slid from the bed and adjusted the collar of my shirt. With a smile, I turned back around and leaned over the bed, kissing Masaya's cheek. "Morning Honey, happy birthday."

"It's not morning until I get my coffee," he protested sleepily. "Can't I sleep in on my birthday?" Rolling over, he replaced me by hugging onto a pillow.

"We did, it's almost eleven." I replied, shaking him a little. "You can't sleep away your day, now get up and dressed. I'll have you breakfast shortly."

"What about my presents?" He asked playfully, waking up more. "I want a good morning kiss."

I laughed at him and leaned over, pecking his lips. "There, that's all you get until you get out of bed. Now come on," I pulled on his arm lightly. "Brush your teeth; you got some _serious_ morning breath going on."

"Oh yeah, like you don't," Masaya smiled at me and slipped out of the covers, stretching out. "What are we having this morning?"

"Bacon and eggs." I winked at him. "I know how to fix that properly after all, and I don't want to burn anything today."

"Wohoo! Happy birthday Masaya!" I grinned as Masaya held his cell phone away from his ear. Mark was obviously having a good time today at the fair with his girlfriend. "What'cha get?"

"Nothing yet," He replied, skeptical of putting the device any closer to his ear in fear of another yell. "It's not even lunch yet man. I haven't left the house."

"Ichigo's there isn't she? She must have given you something. Spill the beans man, she make a lot of noise or what!?"

I choked into my milk and felt my cheeks burn. "No, for your information she does _not_!" Masaya yelled at him, and then realized what he just said and smacked his face with his hand. "I didn't mean that in any way associating with our love life what so ever."

"Sure you didn't man. Anyway, Brittany's coming back over here so I'll let you go. Give me a shout later all right?"

"Will do." He clicked off his cell phone and looked at me. "What?" He asked, embarrassed. "You know how Mark is."

"Boys," I sighed. "Anyway, I do have a gift for you, let me go get it." I winked and trotted past him into the bedroom and then to the closet. Hopping up, I pulled down the pink bag up on the top rack and dug around in it, picking out two items and re-hiding the rest for later.

Coming back into the kitchen/living room area, I held out a small package and another larger one. "Ta-da! Open them!"

He laughed at me and shredded the paper off the smaller package first. Opening the box, he smiled at it. "Wow, it looks really classy," He told me, as he admired the frame and picture in it. "We had this one taken last year didn't we?" He held it up to show me, although we both knew I had put it in there to begin with. "While we stayed that week in the mountains with everyone."

I nodded at him and sat down across from him at the table, propping my cheek on my hand. "I didn't know what else would go with the frame." My legs crossed at the ankles and I watched him set it on the table, facing him, as he reached for the other package. Opening it up just as quickly as the first, he laughed.

"Nice choice," he complimented, looking over it. Taking the large book from the box, he opened it up, reading the note I wrote on it aloud. "Masaya, Thanks for all the joy and love you have given me in my life. I hope you enjoy this book, nyan" He paused and looked at me, grinning like an idiot. "You actually wrote out 'Nyan'?"

I grinned. "What? It's a cute sound, don't you think?" I looked at him sideways. "You don't complain when I say it at night."

He blushes and scratched his cheek. "That's different...Ah, there's more?" He looked back in the box and pulled out a sweatshirt. "Ah, thanks! I need some more cloths; most of mine are getting a little old."

"That's what you get for getting an apartment and no job, you bum. Can't afford new cloths." I winked at him as he put it on, changing in front of me. Masaya, luckily, had been given three scholarships for his grades and one for Kendo. As long as he kept them all up, he would be fine not having a job and still live an easy life at college. Of course, he could probably only work at the café if he wanted a job. Running off as the Blue Knight every now and then would surely get him fired really quickly.

"Hey, I work plenty hard," He replied, sniffing. "If I get that job for the documentary for the discovery channel, I'll be really, really busy."

"How is that going, anyway?" I asked, leaning forward.

"I should get a call any day now," He replied happily. "But on the subject of animals, shall we be off to the zoo?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, look over here, it's a panther cub." I called out, pointing down into a recessed section of the land. "They're so cute!"

Masaya leaned over the rails next to me. "They are. Ah, look, that one looks like you!" He pointed to a smaller cub, who was pitch black with light pink insides of his ears.

"I don't know if I should say thank you or be upset," I replied, grinning at him.

"Be upset and let me make it up to you by buying a drink." He winked at me. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

"Okay," I watched him run off and waved at him as he went away. Smiling, I looked back at the panther cubs. They would be in the contact time this turn around. The two cubs started to wrestle around with each other, biting and pawing playfully. Laughing, I leaned over onto the rail to keep myself amused until my boyfriend got back.

"_Excuse me,_" I looked down to see a young girl pulling on my shirt. She couldn't be more than six and didn't look Japanese. "_I'm lost; can you help me find my father...?_"

"Umm..." I knelt down to her and tried to piece together what she had asked me. It was times like this that I wish I had learned English. Thinking quickly, I replied as best as I could. "_Hello. You are lost?"_

She nodded up at me, almost crying. "_I can't find my Daddy._" She sniffed and a tear went down her cheek. "_I'm scared._"

I licked my lips unconsciously and translated the words that I caught from her: Daddy and scared. "_I can...you daddy find."_ She wiped away her tears slowly. Taking this time to think, I began to try and process how to ask her about what he looked like, but she suddenly called out to someone behind me.

"_Uncle Masaya!_"

"What!?"

"_Tiffany! What are you doing here?_" Masaya knelt down to her. "_Wow, you've grown up. How old are you now?_"

"_Six._" She pulled on his sleeve. "_I can't find Daddy, can you help me_?" She pointed at me. "_She said she would help too._"

"What's going on?" I asked, amazed. "Masaya, who is this little girl and what is she saying?"

"She can't find her father," he translated for me, which I already figured out. "She asked me to help find him for her. As for who she is," He picked her up and held her on his waist, letting her wrap her arms around him. "She's Mr. Fujitaka's daughter. He's the head of endangered species in England. Remember when I lived over there? I spent most of my time with him."

"I see..." I looked around. "Well, I guess we should go find him?"

"_Where did you see him last?_" Masaya asked the girl in English.

"_We were with the Iriomote Wildcats._"

"Iriomote..."

"...Wildcat?" I felt the insides of me pull. It was the only two words I understood. "There's a wildcat around here?"

"Must be... It would explain why Mr. Fujitaka is here. Anyway, lets head over to the roped off section. That's where he would be at I'm assuming. Tiffany here should have..." HE looked down at her and pulled a card around her neck. "A pass for it." He turned to her. "_Did he say he would meet you anywhere if you got separated?_"

The little girl shook her head. "_I was supposed to stay at the day care, but I saw a cat walk around so I followed it._"

"She said she followed a cat. Let's take her to the daycare, around the offices. She wouldn't need a pass if she was at the other one."

All of a sudden a few people ran past us, talking into their walky-talkies with the word "STAFF" on the back of their shirts. "The only other place is the west section! We're searching now!"

"_Tiffany, honey, what did this cat you followed look like?_"

"_Like that one_." She pointed behind me.

Slowly I turned around, swallowing thickly as a large spotted wildcat took a few steps toward us. I was vaguely aware of people running around me, screaming. "Um...Masaya? You know all about them, don't you? You told me they were nice, didn't you?"

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Ichigo, I'm going to distract it. I want you and Tiffany to run, okay?"

I swallowed. "I'm part wildcat, I'll distract it."

"Ichigo, no!" He tried to pull me away, but I took a few steps forward. "Masaya, run, do something with her. I can transform. I'll be fine."

He paused a moment before nodding. "Everyone's away. I'll take care of her. Wildcats aren't hostile to their own kind." He turned and ran off, holding the young girl close to him.

My ears and tail popped out and I knelt down. "Here kitty kitty." I made a becoming motion with my hand. I felt my cloths shift around me and then heard a tingling sound of the bell on my tail ring. The Wildcat hesitated a moment before walking over to me and sniffing my hand. "That's a good girl. I won't hurt you." I looked at the collar on the large cat. "So, you're name is Nancy huh? That's a cute name. Why are you outside here?"

The animal gave a loud meowing sound, making me jump lightly. It was as if I could _almost_ understand her. When I was a cat myself, I could understand other animals but when I was a Mew Mew, it was as if I could _feel_ what they were trying to say. "Wait a minuet...if Tiffany saw a cat that looked like you, that means you lost your cub didn't you?" She roared/meowed again and I stood up. "Well then, I guess we'll have to find her then."

"_I wonder where Nancy could be..."_

"_I'm sure she's safe."_

"_There she is!"_

I smiled at everyone as I walked toward them, holding a baby cub in my arms and the large wildcat beside me, keeping my pace. I laughed and blushed as the cub pulled at the top of my dress and shifted it so it was looking over my shoulder. "This thing is actually kind of heavy," I greeted Masaya.

"_Amazing!_" an older man said, looking at us. From the English language, I assumed it was Mr. Fujitaka. "_The Iriomote Wildcat is extremely territorial! I never imagined that it would-_"He stopped his speech and took a few steps back as Nancy growled at him when he got to close to me.

"Ehehe, I better guide her back to wherever they are keeping her._" _I told Masaya, who was trying not to grin. "Where is that?"

He turned to the man. "_She said she would guide Nancy and the cub back to their area. She is part wildcat of the same species so they won't harm her. Where should they go?"_

"_Absolutely amazing! I never thought when I agreed to come here to oversee the transportation of these animals to the reservation I would meet a human who could interact with them so casually!"_

Masaya scratched the back of his head. "He seems to be fascinated by you."

"Mou! I'm not some kind of animal to be studied!"

He blushed. "_Er, she said she doesn't like to be looked at like that, and would like to take these back to where they belong._"

"_Oh! I am very sorry. Please, follow me._"

"And thanks to a Mew Mew, the Red date animal Nancy, also known as a Iriomote Wildcat, has been safely brought back to the pen in the zoo while awaiting it's transportation to the Amazon reservation where it can live in it's natural environment."

I blushed, trying to ignore the video camera following me and the reported in front of it. I couldn't wait until they closed that lock so I could get out of here.

"Miss? Miss, could you answer a few questions?" She held the mic toward me, pleading look in her eye. "Why do you fight the aliens? How did you get your powers? Who _are_ you?"

Glancing over at Masaya a moment, I turned to her. "I'm Mew Ichigo! Half wildcat, half human, all loving the planet!" I pointed at the camera. "Don't worry about the aliens, we'll be of service whenever you need us, nyan!" With that, I leapt into the air and landed on top of a building, where I jumped again and again until I landed in a safe place to detransform. Sighing, I rotated my shoulder. "So much for a nice relaxing day."

My cell phone rang, catching my attention. Opening my purse, I took it out. "Hello?"

"That was nice," Masaya greeted me. "I love how you pawed at the air before you leapt off."

I laughed. "Oh shush, I'm on my way back. And I still want that drink you promised me."

"Eventful day," Masaya said, stretching out after putting an armful of presents down onto the couch. We had stopped by the café earlier where everyone threw a surprise party for him. After being stuffed full of a specially made cake from Keiichiro, we all talked and danced until almost eight.

"Did you have fun?" I asked him, smiling.

"It was a blast." He hugged me and kissed my forehead. And then trailed down to my lips. "Now I get to spend the rest of it with you. Couldn't get better."

I returned his kisses a moment before pulling back and blushing. "I still have one more gift."

"You do?" He asked lightly before kissing me again.

Purring, I returned it before replying to his question. "I do." I kissed him again. "Go take a fast shower so I can prepare it."

He raised an eyebrow at me and I blushed darkly. "Go, now, or you won't get it."

"I'm going, I'm going." He laughed and walked into his bedroom, grabbing a towel from the hamper of cloths we have yet to put up. Smiling at me one last time, he closed the door.

I waited until I heard the shower running before slowly making my way to the closet and picking up the bag I had left in their earlier. "I can _not_ believe Zakuro talked me into this," I whispered to myself as I pulled out what was inside.

I looked up as the bathroom door opened and he stepped out in a pair of shorts and a loose shirt. "All clean," he told me playfully, shaking his hair and sending water flying. I smiled at him as he stopped in front of me to stroke on of my cat ears. "So, what is this mysterious last minute present that I had to take a shower for?"

"Right here," I held up a pink bag.

"Oh, Victoria secret! Woohoo!" He took it from me and looked into it. "Hey, it's empty..."

"I know..." I blushed darkly, slowly taking off the long sleep shirt I normally wore to bed. The bag dropped from his grasp and I could see his eyes get bigger. "This present, however..." I whispered, stepping close to him and pressing my body against his. "You'll have to unwrap it slowly..." I blew into his ear and stood on my tiptoes, kissing him.


	15. Taking a Vacation? Getting away!

This sucks. I'm sore, tired, and only want to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the knocking at my door was still persistent and I knew I had to answer it. Stumbling out of bed, I had to catch myself to keep my legs from collapsing. Apparently I still hadn't recovered from last night. Wincing, I looked at the clock. "Great. Just great, we overslept two hours."

**College Mew Mew**

**By: Satashi**

"Morning Ichigo," Mint greeted me cheerfully as I opened the door, still putting one arm through a long shirt. "You just waking up? We are ready to leave. Everyone is already in the van."

"I'm sorry, Mint. I'm tired, sore, and we overslept. Go get breakfast or something and come back? We didn't sleep at _all _last night…"

"Apparently not," She replied, reaching to my hair and pulling lightly on a spot that was matted together. "Someone had fun on his birthday it seems."

Blushing and now more awake, I grabbed my hair back and glared at her. "Don't you dare say a word."

"Oh, that hurts. Your love life is none of my business."

I felt bad hearing that. "Oh, sorry, I just thought that-"

"Unfortunately, I _am_ your best friend, and there_ are _three other girls who are also your friends waiting on you. They at least deserve to know why." To my utter horror, Mint turned and called, loudly, to the van. "Hey girls! Guess what Ichigo did last night!?"

"Masaya. Masaya, wake up. Come on, we need to get ready and check our luggage. Masaya. Masaya, come on!" I shook him, fighting the urge to join him in the bed and just snuggle up and sleep.

"What?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Good morning."

"Good morning." I blushed when he smiled at me. "Um, did you have a good birthday?" In response, I found myself suddenly pinned to the bed, a playful Masaya on top of me. "I'll…take that as a yes?" I blushed darker as he nuzzled my neck. "We need to get ready, honey. We need to –ah- stop that." I smacked his head. "We need to shower and be ready when they come back. Also- mmph!" I returned his kiss after he decided to leave my neck alone. "Masaya," I broke free to get some air. "We need to…" Another long kiss. "Okay, five minutes." I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. A moment later I felt his hand massage my back and a warm pleasant feeling invaded my mouth. Blushing, I took another breath of air as he pulled back from the kiss. "Maybe ten…"

"You'll be the death of me!" I shouted at him as I hurriedly pulled my sweater on. "They'll be here any _second_!"

"Not _my_ fault!" He countered, almost falling over putting on some blue jeans. "You were still wearing…_that_!"

"Fine, I won't wear it anymore." I blew a kiss at him as I retreated from the bedroom and into the bathroom. "I have to fix my hair."

"Hey, I need in there! You take ages to do that!"

"First come, first serve!" I shouted back, closing the door and locking it. "A girl needs some privacy."

"Geeze! Women!"

Smiling, I turned on the water faucet and ducked down enough to rinse out my hair, seeing as how we never got into the shower. In the bedroom I heard him rummaging about frantically, probably double checking out luggage and making sure we had everything we needed on our week long trip.

Brining a comb to my head, I winced as I combed through it. "Stupid jerk." I muttered, using my other hand to grab my deodorant and try to put it on at the same time. Managing to accomplish this feat, I then grabbed the blow dryer and began to fix the damage of bed hair and generally try to look pretty.

"Ichigo, come on! They just pulled up and I haven't brushed my teeth yet!"

Laughing, I opened the door and let him rush by. I picked up the small suitcase with wheels on it and walked to the door, stopping to look in the hallway mirror and make my ears go down. Answering the door, I smiled up at Zakuro. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she replied, patting my head. "I got you and Masaya an order to go. Are you ready yet?"

"He's in the bathroom," I replied, smiling. "Oh, and, er, well, thanks for the birthday suggestion."

She laughed at me. "I was only playing with you at the time, I didn't mean for you to take it seriously. You really did it?" she started to laugh more.

"Hey, that's not funny!" I pouted up at her, and she gave me a sisterly half-hug.

"Any more?" She pointed at my bag.

"Ah, there's one on my bed and Masaya should be getting his too."

She winked at me, walking into our apartment to get my other bag. I smiled and walked to the van, where Ryou was lazily waiting in the driver's seat. Keiichiro was waiting for me outside, however, and offered to load my bag for me. He was always so nice about things like that. Unlike a certain someone I knew... I looked at Ryou, who grinned as if reading my thoughts. I stuck out my tongue at him, and sucked it back in before Keiichiro turned back around.

Smiling innocently at him, I watched him walk around the other side of the van to get back into the passenger seat. I then heard the van rev up quickly and felt the exhaust blow over my legs, leaving a soft black haze over them and my socks. I quickly turned to glare at Ryou, who was whistling along with the current song on the radio. Muttering under my breath, I was about to return to the apartment to make sure Masaya had gotten ready when I felt him lean down next to my ear.

"Hey, Zakuro is looking at me kind of funny, did I do something?"

I blushed and got into the van, not answering him. Sitting down, I turned my vision to my lap and found my fingers suddenly interesting enough to hold my gaze. After a moment, I spared a look up at Pudding. She looked back at me, and then grinned. Feeling my cheeks get hot, I looked back down into my lap.

"So this is it, huh?" I asked, stepping out of the van and into the cold night. The snow crunched under my feet as I walked a bit. Shivering, I hugged myself and looked around. Soft white puffs of mist came from my mouth as I breathed, but I didn't really mind the weather. I had waited long enough for snow, and here it seemed to be plentiful.

"More or less," Ryou replied, looking at his map in the headlights of the van. "We should go… That way," He pointed at a small building not far off. "That's where the lounge is I'm assuming."

"Then let's go before we freeze." I took a few hurried steps to catch up with him and walk by his side. Originally, he was going to go check us in on his own, but I needed to get some fresh air. The constant teasing of the girls had driven me crazy on my way up here. "Thanks again for inviting us," I told him, smiling up at his face. I only came up to his chest now. Since he was American, he had naturally grown to a little over six feet tall. I barely pushed five foot five after I hit my growth spurt. Oh well, at least Mint was still shorter than me.

"Ah," Ryou replied lightly, like he always did. "Come on," he opened the door and held it for me. I blinked at him, not expecting something like this. Keiichiro was always the one to be a gentleman around me and the other girls.

"Thank you," I smiled at him, obviously looking impressed, because he turned his head so I couldn't see him. Stepping inside, I looked around. "Wow, this place is prettyful."

"Is that even a word?"

"It is now," I replied, winking at him.

"Ryou!" I turned to look at the voice. A man with short red hair was waving over at us, smiling happily. "Glad you could make it!"

"Thanks for the invite," Ryou greeted him back, shaking his hand. "How have you been?"

"Good. Business is starting to pick up as word gets around. I'm glad you came." He looked down at me. "Is she your girlfriend?"

I blushed and looked down. "Um, I'm-"

"A very close friend," Ryou replied for me, patting my head. I smiled lightly, but still looked down. Ryou was acting rather nice tonight, a good change from his ever present teasing. "Unfortunately, she's not mine."

"I see. Well, did everyone make it?"

"Eight of us in all. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," The man replied, getting a key from behind the counter somewhere. "Here is the key to the best cabin around. Family and friends get-away package. Four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a hot tub. Not to mention it's the closest to the ski lift."

"Oh wow!" I exclaimed happily, looking at the man with a cute look. "That's great! A hot tub, really!?"

"Top of the line," He winked at me, laughing. "It's not a hot spring, but you'll have a great time none the less."

I pulled on Ryou's sleeve happily. "Oh wow, thanks for inviting me!"

He seemed a little surprised at me, but couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "You're way too hyper after such a long trip." He turned to the person behind the counter. "Thanks Leon. I'll come by in the morning to catch up. Right now, I have a full van of people who have been riding for over nine hours."

"Of course," Leon replied, giving Ryou a set of keys and me as well. "Let me mark it on your map." He drew a red line from the building we were in to another building not really far off. "Here you go. There are other people around as well; we're almost three quarters full already. Maybe you'll make some friends. The Animal Rights people are here as well too, inspecting the area to make sure it's safe for the animals. Please cooperate with them if they come across you."

"Of course!" I replied before Ryou could. "We all love animals. In fact, Masaya is in the Animal club in college!"

"Oh really? Their should be a few students around as well. Maybe you'll run into some of your friends."

I smiled happily. "Yeah!" Turning to Ryou, I pulled on his sleeve. "Come on, Ryou; let's get back to the van. I can't wait to see our house."

"Sure, sure." He started to walk with me, waving his hand over his shoulder. "I'll come in for breakfast, tomorrow Leon."

"Till then!"

I shivered as the door opened as we began the walk back to the van. "You could have parked a little closer."

"Keiichiro parked, not me," was his response. I laughed to myself, but stopped as I sneezed. Almost instantly, I found a warm jacket around me. "You idiot, you should have dressed warmer than that. If you get a cold on the first day of vacation, it would be bad."

"Oh…oh, thanks." I pulled his jacket around myself and smiled. "You know, if you acted nicer like this all the time, I'm sure girls would be falling all over you."

"Hmmm." His response was casual, as if dismissing the thought.

"Or boys, whichever you prefer."

He stopped walking and I quickly ran the remaining way to the van, laughing as he shouted at me loudly.

"Oh _wow_!" Pudding exclaimed as we walked into the cabin.

At the doorway, it immediately opened into a huge living room. Walking a few steps in, there was a flight of stairs in front of us with an open doorway to the right. Looking in it, I saw a large kitchen. I looked around, awed at everything. The stove range was large and had a counter table top on both sides of it, as well as a window right over the range. Walking a little more in, I opened the large refrigerator and grinned. It was so large even all eight of us would have a little trouble filling it up to last us a week. Turning around, I walked past Mint as she was examining the kitchen as well and walked around the big wooden island in the middle. There was a dining room attached as well, with a long table and chairs all around it.

Walking back through the open doorway, I smiled at Pudding, who was running up the stairs. Deciding to stay on the first floor until I saw everything, I continued into the living room. There was a fireplace against the far wall, with a long 'L' shaped couch next to it as well as a TV. Grinning, I ran over to it and knelt down to watch Keiichiro light it, only to be disappointed to find out he was only checking to see if it was gas or not. Luckily for me, it wasn't and I was informed of a pile of fire starter logs outside as well as some cedar logs for burning.

I walked through a doorway to the right of the fireplace and into a room with a cover on the floor, at the bottom of a receded area. Walking down the few stairs, I pulled up one side of the cover and laughed happily to see an oversized hot tub under it. I let it back down and looked around the room. Several fake plants were around, and the walls were mostly glass, so you could see outside. Although I couldn't make anything out but a few trees now, I was sure it would be a spectacular view during the day.

Retreating back into the living room, I looked to my left and saw a bedroom with two beds in it. Lettuce was already setting her suitcase down onto a bed so I waved at her before continuing on my way. I found one of the bathrooms on my way to the stairs, but decided to hold off on my shower until I was finished exploring and unpacked.

Trotting up the stairs, I let my hand trail against the wall. I was surprised to find it flat and completely smooth, even though it looked just like real cut wood. Whatever finish they used on it was really nice. Reaching the top, I looked around and let my hand keep trailing the wall as I walked. There was a balcony along the upstairs section so you could overlook the downstairs. Smiling, I looked into the rooms, finding Ryou in one of them and returning his coat by draping it over him and winking thanks.

I then found another room that only had one bed in it, probably the master bedroom. Seeing Zakuro in it, I was about to leave, but she patted my head and told me that it was mine and Masaya's room since we were the only ones who surely wouldn't mine sleeping together, as the other bedrooms all had two beds in each.

I smiled as Masaya walked next to me and dropped our suitcases down. "Nice place," He said, grinning. "I could get used to this."

Nodding, I agreed. "Yeah, I really like it."

A/N: WARNING! The following author's notes are a rant about the dub Tokyo Mew Mew. If you don't care, or just want to ignore my _opinion_ of this, then please skip ahead to the next chapter. If you do read, and I offend anyone, I'm sorry in advance. If you wish to take up a problem up with me, please use email. Thank you.

I saw the fox box preview of Tokyo Mew Mew dubs today. They called it "Mew Mew Power", although I thought it was going to be "Hollywood Mew Mew". Well, whatever the name is, it sucks. They changed everyone's names, the voice actors suck, the music sucks, no one is in character, and they just all around butchered it to hell and back. I expect nothing less of 4Kids after all these years. Card Captor Sakura (also done with help by Nelvana), Yu-Gi-Oh, and now Tokyo Mew Mew.

One of the worst things, however, was Ryou giving the "Line up" of everyone. They didn't even get the animal's right….Iriomote Wildcat was changed to "mountain wildcat" Now, granted, my endangered species knowledge is limited, but one thing I _do_ know, is in the anime and manga, the Iriomote Wildcat was always shown in a forest, not a mountain. And Ryou said that Ichigo had "powers too numerous to mention" …..Yeah, I mean she has the strawberry check, strawberry check surprise, and the one time only strawberry healing….wait, can I count that high? Three? Wow, they _can _be numbered after all. Apparently, kids in America can't count past two these days.

Also, they said that Lettuce's main power they were counting on is her knowledge. Um, yeah, I know she goes to a privet school and all, but not one single time in the manga do they mention anything about anyone's grades. The only school mentioned at all is Ichigo's classes.

As for their attacks, I didn't quite catch them all because I was in shock. I did manage, however, to catch that Zakuro uses a "dagger" instead of a "whip" ……..How can you mistake a _whip_ as a _dagger_!? And Lettuce uses "Morse code" tare nets. Morse code? Please, it's a fugging musical instrument you idiot translators! Not a device to relay Morse code!

I don't remember all of the dub names, I only caught…."Kelly" (I think) as Ichigo and "Bridget" as Lettuce. I will admit that when bringing this to America, they _could_ take rights to change their names. Tokyo Mew Mew _is _a show for little kids after all. Having a character named "Lettuce" or "Strawberry" just won't fly here in America. Although, I am kind of curious on how they'll do the English Language sections in the anime. Maybe they'll make them speak French of something. Or probably Spanish. Also, Ryou and Keiichiro are American. How they going to change that? Probably cut it out all together.

All in all, I'm upset at the preview. I will admit, however, that dubbing is needed to help spread anime. Maybe these kids will see the show, like it, go online, and try to learn more about it. During that time they'll see that it's already released as a manga and go buy it. Maybe even get the fan subs. I can't say I _like_ dubbing of Anime, but even a hardcore fan like me can see that it _does_ help the community grow

A bad thing though; when and if it _does _do good in America, we'll be flooded with a ton of new fanfics of people using the dub names and attacks and plot line (which if anyone who's seen Fox anime knows they change the entire plot of the series. I won't even _touch_ on how they raped CCS). So the original people here who write are going to get flames by 8 year old kids yelling about how our names are "wrong" and how "this and that happened like _this_ you moron". sighs oh well, there are some mature kids out there who will do it properly at least. There _are_ some kids out there who are more mature than that.

Okay, this ends my rant. I just didn't want you people to wake up one Saturday morning and flip through your channels and see Ichigo going "In the name of the moon I'll punish you!" or something like that. laughs of man, I wonder what they'll change her speech too? "With your powers combined! I am Captain Strawberry!" "Goooooooooooooooooo planet!"

3 I always wanted to say that 3


	16. A snow born kiss? Love isn't Easy!

I screamed loudly as I held onto Pudding tightly. Snow blasted around us in burst of white powder as we almost literally flew across it on the snow mobile. Gripping her tightly, I questioned my sanity on agreeing to let her drive first, knowing she's never been on one before. "Hang on tight!" She called to me, steering right for a large bulge in the snow. "We're going to ramp it!"

My eyes shut tightly and I screamed again, louder than ever before.

**College Mew Mew**

**By: Satashi**

The warm air greeted me as I limped my way into the small restaurant section on the lounge. Several people were around talking with each other happily while others read the morning newspaper. Leon waved over to me as he talked with Ryou about something or another. I gave a small wave back and collapsed into a chair at an empty table. Sighing, I let my upper half fall on it and rested. The next time I wanted to come to the lounge, I would walk, I swear.

"Hey, are you going to lie there all day?" I heard Ryou ask me just as I felt a rolled up newspaper hit me on my head lightly. "We need to go."

"I haven't had breakfast yet," I complained, not looking up. "Where do we need to go anyway?"

"Shopping. I got directions from Leon; we can take his personal snow mobile for it."

"I am _not_ getting on another snow mobile. Ever."

"Tough luck," he tapped my head again. "I've already gotten money from everyone else before they went out for the day. Masaya met up with Mark earlier and asked me to tell you he would have to cancel breakfast so he could go on their wildlife expedition."

"Figures," I muttered. "He never could pass up an opportunity like that." Looking up at him, I sighed. "What are the odds of Mark being here at the same time as us without knowing it?"

"Obviously pretty good," he answered, pulling me up. "Come on, let's go."

"I'm hungry!"

"I'll buy you something there," He kept walking. "I can't carry it all myself."

Growling, I started after him, grabbing my jacket off the racks near the door and putting it on. After words my gloves followed and I was out the door, looking around. Ryou was standing with Leon a little bit away, talking. I walked over to them and looked down at the snow as I did. My feet sank several inches as I walked, leaving large footprints in my trail. The main path was only sprinkled with snow. I read somewhere that they trailed it everyday for the people staying here. The other trails, however, were left alone so the snow mobiles could roll over it.

As I got closer, I ran the rest of the way over to the pair, now happy seeing the snow mobile. "Wow, it's huge!" I said instantly, looking it over. The snow blazer was bright yellow and black, not to mention at least twice as big as the one I had been riding earlier. The sides were large and had big compartments to store luggage of any sort. Even the back had a section for carrying things.

"You like it?" Leon asked me, grinning. "It's a home style model, for people who live around here. It stays covered in snow around the mountain almost year round. These models, however, can go just as fast over solid ground as they can snow."

"I like," I walked around it, smiling. "How fast can it go?"

Leon scratched his head. "Well, it'll go about fifty, which is way to fast on snow. The nearest town is only about five miles away, so it's not a long ride. Just be sure to fill up on the way back."

"Sure thing," Ryou nodded, flipping the keys up in the air and catching them. "Ready, Ichigo?"

"Yeah," I hopped on the back and smiled. There was plenty of room, and I could sit comfortably with a backrest. "Let's go!"

"Here, you'll need these." Ryou handed me a pair of goggles that were tinted pink.

"What for?" I took them and looked at him quizzically. "I won't get much wind sitting in the back."

"It's not for that, idiot," He sat in front of me sideways and fixed them over my eyes. I blushed lightly as he adjusted them for me. "We'll be traveling over a long area of snow; you need these so the sun reflecting off of it won't cause snow blindness."

"Oh." I blinked a few times to get used to my now tinted pink vision. "Where did you get these?"

"I bought them at the gift store this morning," He replied hopping to his seat properly. "Hold on." I squealed lightly and grabbed the back of his jacket when he accelerated. Although this model was much larger than the one I was on this morning, I still felt a little uneasy on it. We rode in silence for a moment until Ryou called over his shoulder to me. "Are you glad you came?"

"Yeah." I leaned forward so I could hear him better. "Thank a lot for inviting me."

He paused a moment. "We got a Mew Aqua Reading over here a few days ago..."

I sighed. "I figured as much. No wonder it's a paid vacation." Pouting, I thumped his back. "I should have known better."

"It's not just that..." His voice got softer and I had to scoot closer and place my chin on his shoulder to hear him. "This is it...this is the last one."

"The...last?"

"There are no more mew aqua readings," He continued. "After this trip for the week and whoever gains this last Mew Aqua, there will be no more random attacks...It'll be duels between the three forces. Pai, Tart, Kish, Incred against Saucer, Kei, Kyosuke, Blackrose. Mint, Lettuce, Pudding, Zakuro, and you are in the middle of it all. Winners will take the aqua, the losers..."

I swallowed. "The losers end up in the hospital."

He shook his head. "Let's not talk about it now. We'll wait until Masha finds the mew aqua source and then worry with it after it's collected." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "Here," He handed it back to me against the wind. I gripped it tightly and then retreated to huddle against his back for the least amount of wind resistance.

"What is it?" I called out, unfolding it.

"What's it look like? It's a shopping list. Add anything you think we missed."

I looked over the large list and mentally calculated anything that was missing. Upon closer inspection, I noticed one critical thing missing. "Ryou. Ryou, we need marshmallows!"

"What for?" He replied, halfly looking back at me. "You need sugar that much?"

"We have to cook them in the fireplace!"

He looked at me blankly a moment before laughing.

"Nice place," I spoke aloud, looking around as I hopped off the snow blazer. I closed my eyes as I took off the pink goggles given to me and yelped lightly as the band got hung up in my hair, which was now hanging straight down and frizzy from the ride in the wind. "Ack, a little help here?" I felt Ryou's hands gently take the band from my hair, leaving me free to shake my head. "Thank you." Instinctively I tried to finger comb my hair and soon realized that it was too wind blown to do anything with. "You have ponytail holder on you?"

Ryou just looked at me a moment before I realized that he would have no reason to have on with him. "Oh, sorry," I blushed. "Used to being around girls and all."

"Come on," He shook his head and began to walk into the store that we parked at. "We have a lot of stuff to get while we are here."

"And you still owe me breakfast," I reminded him as the warm air greeted me. I looked around and grabbed a buggy to push.

"Yeah, yeah." He fell into step next to me as we browsed. After spending about six minuets trying to find what we needed and just goofing off in general, my cell phone rang out to me, demanding to be answered. I patted my jacket a moment before realizing it was on my inside pocket. I managed to unzip it after fumbling a moment and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Ichigo, where are you?"

"Ah, Masaya!" I smiled at Ryou and trotted off a few steps to talk. "Are you having fun this morning?"

"Where are you?"

"Eh? I'm in the town close by."

"How did you get there?"

"Ryou took me."

"Ryou?"

"Yeah. Since you ditched me, I decided to go help him buy all our food."

"I see..."

I blinked, pondering how he meant that tone of voice. He had it last night too when I came into the van cuddled up in Ryou's jacket. "Oh, I get it!" I declared happily, and then lowered my voice when an old couple looked at me odd. "You're jealous aren't you?"

"What!?"

"You are!" I squealed. "You are, you are, you _are_! That's so cute!"

"I'm not _jealous _over anything!" He countered me. "I was just wondering about...Ichigo, stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry," I tried to stifle my giggles. Masaya was the protective type, and got jealous easily. He normally hid it well, though, so the thought of him getting all pouty over me always made me happy. "You have nothing to worry about; you know I only love you."

"I told you I'm not jealous!" He protested again, obviously embarrassed. "And I- Mark, shut up will you!?" I listened closely to my phone, hearing Mark jeer at him from the background. "I told you I was just checking up on her!" I heard Mark reply something, and then heard a small scuffle and then Mark's voice came on the line.

"Ichigoooo! Fancy us being here at the same time, huh?" It was obvious he was running, and Masaya's angry shouts were in the background. "Will you _please_ tell your boyfriend to calm down? Ever since she heard that you went with that guy he-"There was a loud crash and a yell from both people. I was about to ask if they were okay, but I hear Mark groan out, the phone still close to him. "Ow...Dang, man, that hurt. You didn't have to tackle me."

"Remember that when Brittany calls," Masaya replied, obviously in a small amount of pain. "I told you I was just calling to check up on her."

"After you complained for ten minutes."

"Did not,"

"Did so,"

"Ah!" I heard the phone being picked up. "Ichigo, you're still there?"

"Aww, how sweet, he noticed me." I told him cutely. "He was worried about the big bad Ryou stealing me away. Masaya, you're a darling."

"Oh shut up," He hung up the phone and I clicked mine off as well.

"Humph. he didn't have to hang up on me." I complained, sliding it back into my jacket. "Ryou, can we get some strawberries too?"

He gave me a weird look. "Ichigo, this is a ski resort, strawberries here are never in season and have to be imported from other far away areas. They'll cost like eight hundred yen a box, if not more."

I sighed. "Fine, I'll buy them by myself."

The way back home was silent mainly, having talked all morning while shopping and at the small restaurant where we got gas and I was treated to breakfast, even if it was starting to get closer to lunch now. As we pulled up to our cabin, Mint and Zakuro came outside to help us unload the snow mobile. Everyone seemed to be in the kitchen at the same time, telling everyone where things were going and planning out what to make for dinner later that night.

Masaya walked in at one point and looked over at me as I was putting some things under the sink. Standing up, I grinned at him happily and blew a kiss, only to have Keiichiro stand up in front of him at that moment. He gave me a weird look, making me laugh and Masaya sigh and shake his head.

Walking up to him, I smiled and stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "I bought some strawberries," I whispered into his ear. "And some whip cream. Want to eat them with me later?"

"Sure," He blushed and patted my head awkwardly.

I smiled to myself as I put a towel around me. Everyone else was already in the hot tub downstairs, which turned out to be large enough to hold five people comfortably. Zakuro, Lettuce, and Keiichiro were all cooking dinner for the night, so that left the rest of us to lounge around for an hour or so before it was ready. The sun was beginning to set and it would be a perfect view to watch. Giggling, I blushed at the thought of cuddling with my boyfriend in a hot tub.

I walked down the stairs happily and went over to the hot tub room, but something caught my eye as I did so. I turned to look out the window by the door and saw Kish there, grinning at me. He held up his hand to show a small glass container with a glowing blue drop of liquid in it. My mind went into overdrive as I ran to the door and flung it open. The towel around me dropped as I leapt at Kish, calling out my words to transform as I did so.

Kish shocked me enough to stop my transformation by jetting forward and catching me. The coldness of the outside hit me just then and I shivered violently, not being covered enough at all to be outside. Kish looked down at me and grinned. "Shhhh..." He put a finger to his lips. I was stunned enough by the cold to actually stay silent a moment long enough for him to spray something in my face.

"Who left the door open?" Zakuro complained, going to shut it and seeing us. "Kish!"

I suddenly didn't really care about it anymore. In fact, everything was starting to be funny. I grinned stupidly down at Zakuro and spoke to her. "Zakuroooo!" I wanted to wave, but my arms wouldn't move. "I'm cwold, Zwakarouu..."

"What did you do to her!?" She yelled up at Kish, who was laughing, highly amused.

"Just some concentrated nova cane, that's all," He shifted me when my body went slack.

"I fworgot how to smallow." I slurred, feeling increasingly happy, even though I was freezing and mouth was going numb.

"I need a word with her," Kish stated as Lettuce and Keiichiro came around the corner. "Bai bai now."

The world blurred around me.

"Cold," I managed out as Kish laid me down on a bed. Somehow I realized that beds were warm and I dug into the covers numbly. Only after I was comfortable and warm, did I realize that I was upside down under the covers. Kish was laughing his head off, but I didn't care, I found it funny as well. Managing to turn around and put my head at the pillows, I grinned at him. "Sleepy."

"Get some rest," he cooed at me, patting my head. "I'll come back when you're awake and not drugged." Kish leaned forward to kiss me, but stopped when he was only an inch away. "Well, I'll save the kisses when you're better." Instead he ruffled my hair, looking down at my fondly. "Sweet dreams, my little kitten."

I smiled dumbly and nodded. "Okayyyyyy."

"Ugh..." I sat up tiredly, and held my head, which was throbbing dully for some reason. "My head hurts..." I smacked my lips, grimacing. "And my throat is dry... Masaya, get me some water, please?" I waited for a response, but didn't get one. "Masaya?" I removed my hands from my eyes and gasped. "Wha...Where am I?"

I looked around the room, scared. I was in a bedroom of some kind, and for some reason, I was in a swimsuit. "Masaya...? Lettuce...? Mint...?Any...one...?"

I swallowed and though back on my memories. I had gone shopping...I came back... I put everything up and took a small nap. Then I was woken up by Pudding. I changed into my swimsuit next. Then I...went downstairs. Kish was..."Kish!" I swung my legs over the bed and stumbled out of it. Looking around, I realized that I must be...wherever he stayed when he wasn't around us.

The bedside table had a glass of water on it, which I picked up and drank heavily until it was all gone. Setting it back down, I tried to access everything else. It was cool in the room, and had a bed, a table with a few chairs, and plants everywhere. On the other side of the room there was an open door leading into a bathroom. Following the walls, I found another door, which I ran too and tried to open.

Locked.

"Figures," I complained, trying again to open it and failing. Sighing, I sank to the floor and hugged my knees. "I'm cold..." I looked around again, debating getting back into the bed or not. When a shiver passed over me, I decided that it would probably be the best course of action at the moment. As I started to walk over to it, I noticed another door on the other side of the bed.

Walking over to it, I opened it up and stared into a small closet. Not being able to help myself, I rooted through it, realizing that the shirts and pants inside of it were ones that Kish wore. I swallowed and looked down at myself. "If he locked me in his room, he can get over it." I found a shirt that looked like it would half way decently fit me and slid it on. Unfortunately, Kish had broad shoulders now, and I found it steadily drooping down my arm on one side. Shrugging this off, I grabbed a pair of drawstring pants and quickly got out of my bathing suit and into them.

I tied them tightly so they wouldn't fall down and rolled up the pants legs enough so I wouldn't trip over them. Moving to the shirt, I tied the bottom of it into a knot to make it fit better. I didn't really feel comfortable, but it was a definite improvement over prancing around half necked in front of the aliens.

"Now what?" I spoke aloud, walking back to the bed and sitting down. "Everyone must be really worried about me...Oh man; I bet Masaya is freaking out." I closed my eyes and felt my ears pop out of my hair and the familiar uncomfortable feeling of my tail being restricted to pants. Growling, I realized that as long as I was...wherever I was... my emotions probably wouldn't stay settled enough to get rid of them.

Seeing a small pocketknife on the bed stand, I grinned and flicked it open. Turning to my pants, I twisted them around enough so I could grip a piece of it and cut a small slit into them. Grabbing my tail next, I pulled it through the slit and re-adjusted them. My tail twitched behind me and settled down on the bed lazily.

I had lightly dozed off by the time I heard the door open. Sitting up quickly, I saw Kish walk in holding a tray. "You're awake!" He greeted me happily, closing the door behind himself. I heard it click lightly and knew it was locked again. "I came in and checked up on you an hour ago, but you were still asleep. I was a little worried I gave you too much nova cane."

"You _drugged_ me and kidnapped me!?" I shouted at him, furious. No wonder I couldn't remember anything. My ears flattened against my hair and I let my tail flick around angrily behind me. "You _jerk_!"

He seemed to look offended. "Well excuse _me_!" He countered, setting the tray down on the table and pulling a seat out to sit down, crossing his legs. "And after I made you dinner too." My stomach growled at me angrily. I then noticed that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Kish looked over at my and pushed the chair in front of him out with his foot. "I didn't poison it, come eat."

I got up off the bed and walked over to him, sitting in the offered seat. Looking down at the food, I realized that it was all a type of plant. "You're a vegetarian?"

"If you mean I don't slaughter animals to feed off of them, then yes, we all are."

I looked back down at the food and started to eat slowly, keeping an eye on him. "You didn't do anything to me while I was asleep, did you?"

"No," He replied flatly, a little annoyed. "I'm not _that_ bad."

"Hmmm..." I ate another bite. It was actually pretty good. "Why am I here exactly and why are you being so nice?"

Kish leaned forward, suddenly serious. "Ichigo, listen, the end of this war is happening. I don't want to have to fight you like I've been doing. Please, stay with me. With the mew Aqua's that we've gathered, we can restore my planet once again and everyone will be happy!"

"Kish, you know the answer to that."

He sighed. "Kitten... What are you planning to do with your mew Aqua's after the battle has ended...?"

I never though about that. I just assumed they would be used in the battle. "I don't know. Why?"

"Because we need them, even after this is over, and you don't." Kish licked his lips. "Kitten, if we were to make a truce with you, would you give us your mew aquas?"

I stopped eating a moment. "What do you mean?"

He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "We...Me, Tart, Pai, and Incred... want to make a deal. We will all fight against Saucer together, trying not to use the Aqua's as a weapon. This way we can take them back home. We all know that we won't be able to do that if the Mew Mews are battling as well, because the Aqua's to you _are _a weapon. So, here's the deal..." I swallowed a bite and waited on him. "We fight together, beat Saucer, and whatever drops are left, and we take back to our planet to help it. And we'll never interfere with you again."

"You mean all of us against them?" He nodded. "And we give you what's left?" Again he nodded. "We did that last time, and this war happened because of it." I immediately felt guilty saying that. Kish's eyes glazed over a moment after I had said it. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the memories."

"Forget it," He waved it off. "Kitten, we need them. One of them lasted us seven years. If we could bring back three or four, it would be enough to give my entire race a head start... We could make it!"

I looked at him, meeting his eyes. They were honest; pleading. "Okay." I agreed finally, making him break into a large smile. "You didn't have to kidnap me for this, though."

He scratched the back of his head. "I can't talk with you while everyone else is there. They don't...I mean,"

"I know," I interrupted. "They don't really like you."

"Yeah. Not that I kind of feel the same way or anything."

I couldn't help but give a small smile. Kish had always infuriated me back then. I had hated him with every ounce of my very being. It wasn't until the last battle that I realized just how much he sacrificed for me. It took me months to understand it all. He could have killed me several times back then, but each time, he always said the same thing...."Be mine." He loved me then, and even died for me. Seeing him smile up at me like that, saying "I love you" made my heart break. I realized then that I had somehow come to care for him in a weird sort of way.

"Ichigo?"

I blinked, shaking my head to clear it. "Sorry, I was lost for a moment there." I took another bite of what he offered me. "This is good."

"Thank you!" He beamed with pride.

I ate the last bite a while later and wiped my mouth. Drinking the last of the water offered, I sighed. "Thanks for dinner, Kish....Can I go home now?"

"Actually, can it wait until tomorrow? I can't teleport from this place to earth more than once a day, or whenever I get enough sleep to recharge. It takes too much power for a round trip. Teleportation is a high energy skill."

"I can't stay!" I protested. "My friends are worried sick over me!"

"Can't be helped," He answered. "I can't, so there's no point in worrying about it."

Sighing, I walked back over to the bed and fell onto it, face down onto the pillow. "Kish, what time is it?"

"About midnight your time." I felt the bed sink in a little bit as he sat next to me. A moment later, I felt his hand touch my head, then trail through my hair. It felt nice being stroked, but a little odd at the same time.

"Kish..." I was going to ask him to stop.

"Ichigo, why don't you love me?" The question took me by surprise. I let him finger comb my hair while I tried to think up a response. "Don't you...even just a little?" He asked after I hadn't said anything for a while. "Do you... Hate me that much?"

"Kish... I don't hate you." I rolled over onto my back and looked up at him. "I just..."

"Ichigo... Can I kiss you?"

"What?" I was surprised. He never asked for a kiss, always took them as he wanted. "Kish?"

"Just one kiss, it's all I ask." He put one hand on either side of me and leaned over, talking close to my face. "Just one. Just kiss me once. I know, Ichigo, but I can't accept the words. Tell me how you feel with your heart, not your mind..."

"Kish, I-"

"_Please_!" He looked scared. "Kitten... I've never asked anything of you before. Please grant me this. Let me know if it is a hopeless love or not..." I felt my cheeks grow warm. Slowly, I nodded up at him and closed my eyes. I felt him lean close to me and pause just above my lips. "I love you, Ichigo."

I felt his lips touch against mine. It was soft and warm, a pleasant taste to them. His lips parted lightly, kissing me again as his body slowly made contact with mine as he laid half on top of me. I felt his body and his soul all at once. I felt the love he had for me clearly. It was strong, pulsing with everything he had. His kiss told me his feelings, and his life. I felt his soul reach out and touch mine, explaining everything his words could not.

In response, I slowly wrapped my hands around his neck softly, gently kissing him back. I took a small intake of air through my nose and felt the kiss deepen. My feelings went out to him silently. I told him of my life, my dreams, my hopes and desires. I opened myself up to him completely in the kiss, sharing everything. I gave him a piece of my soul and everything that I was.

A warm drop of salty water invaded our kiss, soon followed by another. Kish pulled away ever so slowly, and I felt another drop invade my cheek. Opening my eyes, I saw him above me. A tear fell from his eye and onto my nose. He was hurt, there was no denying it. "I...see..." He spoke, voice catching. "I'm sorry...to force you..."

"Kish..." I touched his cheek, and he looked away. "I care for you, I really do...But..."

"I know..." He pulled away from me slowly. "I felt it...I know I'm not the one that makes your heart pound..."

I sat up on the bed and watched him slowly walk away from me. "Sweet dreams, Ichigo." He placed his hand on the door knob. "I'll...see you later, okay?"

"...Okay." I watched him walk through the door and close it behind himself. Slowly, I brought my hand to my face and wiped his tears from me. "I'm sorry, Kish... I know how badly that must have hurt you..." I fell back against the bed and hugged one of the pillows close to me. "But at least now you know..."

A/N: I feel kinda sorry for Kish there. Poor guy. But yeah, the war is ending, which means our story will soon come to an end in the next two or three chapters. I have an idea for another Masaya/Ichigo ficcy, as well as a Kish/Ichigo one. I'm not really big on Ryou/Ichigo, but I _do_ have an idea of it floating around in my head too.

Why am I saying this? Well, I've noticed over the span of updates that the same handful of people always review for me, so here's the deal. You know who you are, the people who've been with me since I started. I haven't had the chance to meet you yet, but I appreciate your support through reviews. What do you want to see next, after this is done? Ryou, Kish, or Masaya? Tell me in a review and I'll tally up the votes when the last chapter is posted and then start on my next 'fic with whoever you chose being with Ichigo, or going to be with. Yeah, you know what I mean. So vote now, and we'll see how it turns out.

Hope you enjoyed the longer chapter. See you next time.


	17. A Slow Day? Getting Out of the House!

"Eh?" I woke up slowly, wondering who was shaking me. Sitting up, I saw Kish in front of me, a light grin on his face. "Kish, what time is it?" I asked him sleepily, debating laying back down and returning to dreamland. "Wake me up in five minutes..."

**College Mew Mew 17**

**By: Satashi**

"It's time to go home," Kish told me, making me sit up again. "It's about five in the morning your time. Come on, Ichigo, you've slept enough and I, hey that's my favorite pair of pants!"

I looked behind me at my tail, which was currently too lazy to be moving around as it normally did. Following it up, I noticed the cut in the pants next and blushed. "You kidnapped me in a bathing suite, what do you want from me?"

He sighed. "Fine, you can keep them. I get something of yours though."

I grinned. "I have the _cutest_ bra/panty set that would look-"

"On second thought, I don't need anything from you." He grinned lightly.

I touched his hand. "Kish, are you okay?"

"Eh?" He pulled away a little. "I'm fine," but his voice told me he was still hurt from my rejection. "Besides, didn't a group of great prophets not once say 'Love is sweet misery.'?"

"That was Aerosmith, Kish."

"I see." He looked at me, and then smiled. A true smile. Laughter came out next. "Ah, forget it." He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "Ready? Don't move around."

"Why not?" I felt my cheeks color out if instinct when his hands wrapped around my waist.

"It throws off the teleportation. Why do you think I drugged you last night?"

"For the fun of it?" I retorted, with a scoff. The air phased around me and I suddenly felt a little sick as I realized I was several stories up in the air, and suddenly cold. "Kish, don't do that!" I scolded him as he laughed. "Get me down, I'm freezing!"

"Yeah, Yeah," He flew me down to the balcony, which was thankfully unlocked. "Talk to them today?" He was referring to his proposal from last night. "Tell me later?"

"How can I contact you?"

He shifted in his pocket and pulled out a small device. "Here," He flew over to me, but remained in the air. "Place this around your cell phone. Press the button and you can talk to me." He pointed to his ear, where for the first time I noticed he had an earring. "I have a communication device already." He tapped it and the device he gave me vibrated a little bit.

"Thanks." I grabbed my purse from just inside the balcony sliding glass door and took my cell phone out, attaching it. "Oh...Here." I unzipped a small section and pulled out a small bundle of pictures. Rooting through them, I handed Kish a picture of me taken for our college year book. "You can have this."

He took it from my fingers and looked over it, smiling fondly. "Thanks. I'll keep it around." This was the time when he would always swoop down and steal a kiss from me, and I even prepared myself to turn my head so he would land on my cheek instead. To my surprise, however, he merely floated back some and waved. "See you." And with that, he teleported off.

I shivered, rubbing my arms. His shirt still refused to stay over both my shoulders at the same time. I was lucky it was long sleeved, even if the cuffs _did_ go halfway past my hands. Walking inside, I closed the door and walked across the house silently, heading to my bedroom. The sun would come up within the hour, so I decided to let everyone sleep until they woke up. They were probably worried sick about me last night.

I opened the door to my room and felt my heart twinge a little bit. Masaya was on the bed, still dressed, and passed out with a blanket half over him, probably placed by one of the girls. Softly I padded my way over to him and kissed his forehead. "Masaya?" I whispered to him softly, making him stir. He was obviously in a rough sleep. "Masaya, honey, wake up. I'm back."

"Ichigo?" He opened his eyes lightly, blinked a few times, and then was instantly clinging to me. "Ichigo! Ichigo!"

"That's my name," I replied to him, hugging him back. "Ow, that hurts, let go a little bit would you?"

His breathing broke and he just pulled me closer to him. "I was so worried."

"Yeah, sorry about that." I was finally able to pull away a little bit and catch the air that was shoved out of me in the fierce hug. "I'm fine," I told him before he could ask. "Just a little cold."

"Here," He pulled the blanket around me, making me sit beside him in the process. "Better?"

"Much," I cooed, snuggling up against him. "Mm. I missed you."

"What happened? Where did he take you?"

"To their place," I told him, closing my eyes and leaning on his shoulder. "To make a deal with me. I'll explain it all later when everyone is together. He was just too scared to stay here with everyone."

"Why did he drug you?"

"He said teleporting is dangerous when the person you're with moves around."

"I see," He spoke softly, probably debating how true that was. His skill of teleportation was still new to him at best. He had only managed to do two long distance jumps so far, and that was the first time he ever did it in the first place. Turning to look at me, he smiled, relaxing now. "I'm glad you're safe. Did he do anything to you?"

"You know he wouldn't hurt me."

"I didn't mean that."

"Oh," I blushed. "He's not _that_ bad of a pervert...But..."

"...But?"

"A kiss."

"What?"

I looked up at him, in his eyes. "We kissed." He looked shocked, but I smiled up at him gently. "I broke his heart. I had to tell him that you were the only one for me. He never listened to my words, and-"

"Ichigo, its okay," He hugged me. "You don't have to explain it. You know that stuff makes me jealous."

Sighing against him contently, I nodded. "Yeah. I know." I was happy he said that. I didn't want him to know, but I felt a little depressed since our little scuffle over the phone. "It's still early, why don't you get some sleep? You look like you need it."

He gave me a lopsided smile. "You look like hell too, thanks." Pausing a moment, he looked down at me. "What are you _wearing_?"

I laughed.

Everyone was glad to have me back at least. I was sure Ryou was going to make some sort of comment about how I wouldn't hog the bathroom for an hour since I was kidnapped, but to my surprise, he hugged me after everyone else had and whispered to me that he was glad I was safe.

Keiichiro had made me a special breakfast that morning to show how glad he was that I was back safe. I love waffles and strawberries. I really do.

After breakfast, I finally told everyone what Kish had asked of me while I was with him last night. There was a small pause from everyone as they considered it, and we ended up leaving it at that for the day so everyone could think on it.

I took my afternoon nap a little earlier than usual and slept through lunch. Upon waking, I stretched out and started debating on what to eat, when I heard Masaya shout out downstairs loudly.

"You little punk! I'll show you no mercy!"

I stood up straight. Was Masaya fighting someone?

"I should have killed you in the first place!" Ryou shouted next. "Prepare to die, Masaya!"

I quickly ran to the door and flung it open, hearing Masaya call out how he was going to avenge Mark's death. I leapt over the second floor railing and landed in a crouch in the living room, scaring everyone at my sudden appearance.

"What's going on?" Mark asked, looking over at me, shocked. "Did you just _jump_ from the second floor!?"

"I...uh..." I looked over at Masaya and Ryou. The latter suddenly leapt off the couch.

"Ha fragged you! Pay up, a thousand yen."

Masaya stood next, muttered under his breath and slammed a bill onto his hand, chucking the Xbox controller onto the couch. "You cheated."

I blushed darkly. "I...I'll be back later." I ran out of the room and into the kitchen, blushing darkly. "Oh wow, I'm an idiot."

"Are you?" I jumped lightly and looked to where the voice came from. Keiichiro was sitting in the dining room, reading a book. "Care for a game of Go, Ichigo?"

"Um, sure." I walked over to him and sat across the table, noticing a board was already on it. "You like playing?"

"I enjoy it." He opened two small circular bins. "White or black?"

"White goes first, right?" I got a nod from him. "Then I'll be white of course."

"Of course," He repeated, smiling as I placed a piece on the board. "What do you think about Kish's offer?" He placed down a chip next to mine.

"I'm for it," I responded, placing another piece down, which he quickly countered without even thinking it seemed. "What do you think?" I put another down.

"I'm not entirely sure about trusting them fully," He admitted, playing.

"Hmmm... I think its okay. They only want to help their planet. Kish wouldn't lie to me."

"I trust your judgment." He spoke softly. "It'll all work out in the end, I suppose. Just like last time."

I didn't answer him on that one. Instead I stayed silent, playing a quick going game. Mint came in at one point and offered us hot chocolate, which we both took. I'm not entirely sure how long we sat there, just playing, but by the time my stomach growled at me, I realized that the board was completely full already.

"Hungry?" he asked me, smiling as he started picking up the trapped pieces and setting them aside.

I started helping him, collecting the other trapped pieces. "I am. I think I'll nuke some fish sticks." I loved those things. "Quick and easy."

Keiichiro chuckled to himself. "You're a weird one, all right."

"Thanks." I replied with a grin. "How many you have?"

"This much," he moved his hand to show me all the chips of mine he captured. I felt my mouth drop, not even realizing how many I had lost over the span of time we played. I only had thirty at most of his chips and he had two semi-large piles of mine.

"You're insane," I mouthed out, amazed.

I didn't know what to think when riding the ski lifts for the first time. I had never been scared of heights before, but sitting in a bench like chair scaling a snowy hillside with people skiing below me made me uneasy somehow. I couldn't keep from clinging onto my boyfriend's arm tightly, scared out of my mind that the thing holding our ride to the moving steel above us might break at any second and we would fall down and die.

"Ichigo?"

"I don't want to die!" I replied, shocked at the sudden speaking. I felt my ears pop out under my warm cap and my tail fidget uncomfortably in my pants, finally sneaking out the top of them. He looked at me a moment, silent. I looked back at him. Masaya turned and looked out in front of us, and I followed his gaze. Then, he broke out laughing so hard I thought he would fall over the safety rail. Personally, right now I almost had the urge to push him the rest of the way.

I felt my cheeks color, and I turned my gaze back below us, watching people slide by on their skis as if it was the most natural thing to do. As the ground started getting closer, I realized that we were reaching the top of the mountain. The rest of the gang was already waiting on us.

The safety bar rose automatically, making me screech lightly. "Come on," Masaya told me, pulling me along with him as our skis made contact with the packed in snow. He dragged me off to the side where everyone else was waiting. Only Pudding and Lettuce seemed to be a little unstable. Ryou was wearing a snowboard, as well as Keiichiro.

"Wow," I looked over at Keiichiro and smiled. "You snowboard? How cool is that?"

He scratched his cheek with one finger and laughed lightly. "Ryou and his parents always invited me on their trips to the beach and to the mountains."

"It's just like surfing," Ryou added in. I recalled him once telling me that while he was in America, he lived near the beach. I knew he surfed a lot, but I never thought it would be the same as on the snow. "Everyone have their watch?" He asked, snapping me back to the present. "There's no doubt we'll get separated as we ski, so everyone remember to meet back at the cabin at five tonight." He pointed to my side, and I turned to see where exactly. "That is the beginner course, so you should probably start there."

"How can you tell?" I asked, amazed.

"It says so on the sign," Mint answered him, grinning at me.

"Oh." I laughed nervously, and everyone seemed to try and stifle their laughs as well. "Anyway, that's where I'm going."

"If anyone needs help, come find me." Keiichiro smiled at us before he turned and started to slide down on the snow, ponytail flying out behind him.

"Or me," Ryou added in, jumping down and swooshing across the powdered snow. Watching him, I gasped loudly as he hit a ramp, reached down to grab his board, and turn around completely before landing.

"I... think I'll stay with the beginner course." Lettuce smiled and bowed at us lightly before slowly making her way over to it and sliding down very slowly.

Turning to Masaya, I smiled. "Well then, shall we?"

"Let's shall."

A/N: Sorry for such short chapter after not updating in two days. I've had trouble sleeping recently and I can't concentrate enough to write. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow or the day after.

Oh, I just noticed something today. On page 82 of volume one, Ryou's hologram tells Ichigo that he got Mint's ballet tickets through his parent's connections, but later it's revealed that his parents died when he was like eight or so...so how can his dead parents, who died in _America_ have connections like twelve years later in Japan? Weird, huh? Yeah, I know I think too much.

Shout outs go to the Chibi fluffy muffin and KrysOfDeath this time. It was nice meeting you two. ==


	18. Snow skiing 101? Have fun!

Okay, so I apparently wasn't very good at snow skiing. I've fallen countless times, and have gone down the slop around twenty different times. So far I haven't managed to make it down without falling, but I was at least getting more confident about it. I still don't like the ski lifts. They were un natural.

**College Mew Mew 18**

**By: Satashi**

I shivered as I walked into the small log restaurant at the bottom of the mountain. Closing the door behind me, I took off my heavy jacket as I walked in and looked around. Bits of snow flaked off of me as I hung my skis up on a section for them. All I wanted right now was to get out of my mittens and wrap my hands around a nice large cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows in it.

I saw a mess of blond hair near the back of the restaurant, near the fireplace. As I began to walk, I noticed it was Ryou. Deciding that he needed some company, and that he also wanted to buy my lunch, I flopped down in front of him and laid my head on the table. "I'm cold."

"Yeah, snow tends to do that to people," Was his casual response. Looking up, I watched him sit down his mug and look back out the window. I mentally debated stealing his drink, but I figured it was probably already too cold for my liking, so I lifted up and caught a waiter's eye.

"May I help you, cutie?" He asked me with a smile.

I blushed a little, not expecting him to try and flirt with me. "Er, yeah. Can I have a mug of hot chocolate? With a lot of marshmallows in it?" I heard Ryou laugh lightly for a second before he caught himself. "And put it on his ticket."

"Hey!"

"Would you like anything else?" The waiter asked me, ignoring Ryou. "May I suggest some cake? It's really yummy."

"Um, no thank you..." I looked down at my lap, wishing the man would stop talking to me like he was. I was starting to feel uneasy with the flirtatious manor he had.

"Maybe some fruit?"

"Look, pal, just bring her, her dang hot chocolate." Ryou spoke up, shocking me.

The man looked shocked, as if just noticing Ryou. "Sir, if you do not lower your voice, I'll have to ask you to leave."

Ryou looked positively stunned. "You're making her uncomfortable," He replied coldly.

"I'll be right back with your order," he spoke to me, flashing a smile that made me question his mentality. "I'll be back shortly."

I looked down at my lap again, blushing. "Um, thanks." I told Ryou softly. "I couldn't have done that."

"Where's Masaya?" He asked, changing the subject on me. "You not with him right now?"

I let out a small sign. "No, he got better at this way quicker than I did, so I let him keep going so he could have fun and not be held back by me."

"You not doing so well?"

"I fall down a lot," I winked at him, grinning. "I'm such a klutz sometimes."

"That's for sure."

"Hey, you're not supposed to agree with me!"

He snorted, taking another drink out of his mug. "Oh great, he returns."

"Here you are cutie." He told me, setting down the cup in front of me. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Er, no, that will be fine."

"Are you free later this evening?"

"Eh!?"

"My shift ends soon, would you like to go out? I can teach you how to ski like a professional." He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled down at me

"I'm her instructor." Ryou spoke up, glaring. "Take your hands off of her!"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Like hell I will!" He stood up, making everyone turn to us. I had never been more embarrassed before. I wanted to scratch the waiter's eyes out, and hug Ryou at the same time.

"Is there a problem?" A familiar voice spoke up.

Turning, I saw Leon standing there, looking at us. Oh yeah, Leon was the manager of the ski resort. Therefore, this restaurant was under him as well. I was about to tell him that nothing was going on, but Ryou beat me to it. "Ah, Leon," he greeted, suddenly grinning.

I smiled and put my face in my hands, laughing and willing it all to go away at the same time.

"I must admit, I've never gotten someone fired before," I grinned, holding my skis over my shoulder as we walked to the lifts. Ryou was carrying a pair as well, and had his snowboard on a latch in the restaurant for him to reclaim later. He was going to teach me how to ski for the last hour that we had until we all had to meet up again. AS we got closer to lifts, I slowed down a little. "Hey... Do we _have_ to ride those things?" I pointed at the ski lifts, even though it was obvious what I was talking about.

"Of course." He replied easily, walking over to it and standing, waiting for the next lift to come pick him up.

Shocked, I ran over to him before it could come. "Don't you dare make me ride one by myself!" I scolded him, grabbing his arm and looking behind us to see the seat coming. "I don't like these things..." I felt it bump against us, making me automatically sit down on it. Instantly I pulled the safety rail down and closed me eyes, gripping it with one hand and Ryou's arm with the other.

He was silent a moment before biting back on his laughs. "Ichigo, you are such a girl sometimes."

"Shut up," I gripped his arm tighter, making him wince. "These things aren't natural."

"Of course not, they're man-made with steel strong enough to support a little over half a ton of weight before breaking. I don't even weight two hundred pounds." His voice got a little cockier. "But we all know that you weigh a lot more than what you look like."

Oh, he _didn't_! I turned to glare at him and give him a piece of my mind, but his free arm raised the safety bar. Screaming, I latched onto him, shouting every curse word and nasty comment that came to my mind. When I ran out, I dug deeper into my mind and then let loose on every raunchy comment I had ever heard on late night television as well.

Skiing wasn't as hard as I thought it was. After having someone actually _teach_ me, my trips went a lot easier. I only fell down twice on my last run down the mountain, and was quite proud of myself. Ryou turned out to be a good teacher after all, saying that he had already taught Lettuce some earlier in the day. Right now, however, I just wanted to change out of my damp frozen cloths and take a nice, long bath. After that I would curl up and read a book in a chair next to the fireplace. Yes, that's exactly what I would do.

The warm air greeted me and Ryou in a burst as we stepped through the door. Laughing, I shook off the snow on my hat and rustled my damp hair under it. My cat ears twitched a little, making me smile. As I took off my jacket, my tail escaped its warm hiding spot and lazily hung out behind me as I fumbled with the snow pants I wore. Finally ridding myself of those and left in a long sleeve shirt and a pair of sweatpants, I walked the few steps into the living room, only to jump back and make my ears and tail go away just as Mark walked past me.

He gave me an odd look, and then shook his head, muttering "It couldn't be..." before making the rest of his way into the kitchen. Sighing in relief, I walked into the living room where Masaya was talking to someone. Upon getting closer, I realized that it was the same man from the zoo when it was Masaya's birthday. They both noticed me at the same time and Masaya turned to him, motioned to me, and said something in English that didn't make any sense to me, aside from my name. The man offered his hand, which I shook. He then turned to Masaya and replied to him.

My boyfriend grinned and the two shared a laugh. "He said you're a very charming lady," Ryou told me as he walked by and up the stairs to his room.

Blushing, I bowed politely to him before retreating from their English conversation and into the kitchen. "Mark, why is he here?"

He blinked and looked over at me, in mid bite of a sandwich he was making. Not bothering to swallow, he answered me. "He took us here."

"Eh?"

Mark took a drink of a Mountain Dew ™ and grinned at me. "He came down to Japan to oversee the transfer of the Iriomote Wildcats. When that was done, he went to the college to visit the U.M.A club and endangered species department. I met him there and told him about this place where Masaya was talking about visiting. When he found out about it, he took the opportunity to take us here to study wildlife in their natural environment."

"And he just did that on a whim?"

"Well, he was waiting for a call from the higher-ups on who was chosen for the documentary."

"Did Masaya get it!?" Mark looked away a moment, telling me all I needed to know. "Aw..."

"Yeah, some jerk-off T.V. star offered to do it as long as William did the documentary. So of course, a star on a documentary would get it more ratings, therefore making it more money. The guy doesn't even care about animals either, it's obvious. He's doing it for publicity."

"That isn't fair," I pouted, catching an offered drink from him. Popping the top, I took a drink.

"Yeah, so unless Masaya has a super famous movie star or something on his side, it's a no-go."

I blinked. "Movie star, huh?"

Zakuro walked into the kitchen, grabbed a small bag of chips and started to walk out, but stopped. "Why am I getting a really weird feeling?"

"I'll be indebted to you forever, Zakuro." Masaya said, bowing to her. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

I waved at Mark and Mr. Fujitaka as they walked away and got on their snow mobiles to go back to their cabins. When they were gone, I closed the door and smiled at Masaya. "Congratulations."

Zakuro smiled and patted my head before turning to Masaya. "You owe me dinner for this."

I covered my laugh with my hand and walked past them, grinning. "I'm going to take a bath. You two sort things out."

I closed my eyes and lie back in the oversized bathtub and let the hot water hit my body as it wanted to. Sighing out, I sank a little lower and inhaled deeply through my nose. Mentally I debated on how long I should stay in here, and then decided that there was another shower downstairs so I could keep it as long as I pleased.

After a few minutes I opened my eyes and wiped the water from my face as best I could. Reaching beside my leg, I picked up my tail and brought it closer to me so I could examine it. I have done this countless times before, but I was always still awed by it. It was an extension of my spine, I knew, but it was still shocking at how sensitive it was. A good tug on it would make me almost blank out for a moment. I still remembered each time someone had landed a hand on it long enough to pull. I had slapped Kish the second time he pulled it when chasing after a Mew Aqua source. From the looks on his face I was pretty sure he would never do it again.

I smiled as my tail twitched in my grasp, silently wondering why it was being held I none place for so long. I never really had much control over it, not that I haven't tried. It came when it wanted to and left when _I_ wanted it to. As for actually being able to move it on my own, I am proud to say that I can make it move in any direction that I wanted it to. Unfortunately I had to close my eyes and concentrate really hard before it would do it. I practiced every night in the bath, hoping that I could train it to wrap around my waist and tuck the tip under itself so it wouldn't lash out. I've done it before, but I couldn't walk very far without it undoing itself to swing behind me.

I stroked the fur on it a moment, getting a pleasant feeling. I smiled to myself and let it go back down, where it rested on the bottom of the bathtub peacefully as I started to lather some shampoo into my hair.

I still didn't know how I would be able to run in the competition without my ears and tail flying out behind me as I did so. I have thought of many scenarios where I even wrapped my tail around my waist myself and tied it there with some strong. Aside from being really uncomfortable, I couldn't even run with it bound like that and it always broke free on it's own before I made it far at all.

Letting out a sigh, I leaned forward and let the shower wash away the soap from my hair. I really liked these showers. I could sit and let the water beat on me as long as I wanted to. Masaya had one like this as well in his apartment. Traditionally, Japanese bathtubs were large and made for soaking, with a small shower head to wash off with before getting in. Myself, I preferred to be bathed in a spray. The only downfall was I couldn't read while doing that. A laugh escaped as I remember Masaya complaining almost on a nightly basis how I would hog his bathroom for an hour so I could have some alone time with myself and my book.

Grinning, I left myself lean back again and close my eyes. The water was especially good tonight after being in the snow for so long. It felt soothing and relaxing all at once. I could almost go to sleep in here...

"Wake-y, wake-y, little Ichigo."

I moaned lightly, wondering who had interrupted my dream of having an all you can eat doughnut breakfast and slowly made out the image of Zakuro kneeling down and smiling at me. "Za....kuro?"

"Ah, she _is_ alive." She replied teasingly. "Ichigo, you can't stay in the shower so long with the water like that, it'll make you sick. Come now," She offered me a hand to help me up. At first I thought I was perfectly able to stand on my own, but after the simple act of sitting up, I found myself dizzy. "See there? I told you so."

I smiled at her, allowing myself to be helped out and then found a towel on my head, drying my hair lightly. "Be sure to drink something when you go downstairs, or you'll have a nasty headache later."

"Yes, mom." I replied, closing one eye as she dried the hair closer to my forehead. Zakuro smiled at me. She was several years older than all of us and served as our source of worldly knowledge at times. I couldn't even begin to count the times I had run to her seeking help on my love life or my life in general. It was really hard going without her when she went away to film her movies.

"Is she out yet?" Ryou asked, annoyed, walking by.

Blushing, I grabbed the towel around my head and covered myself with it. "Kya! Pervert! Letch!"

"I didn't look!" He protested angrily, continuing on his way.

I glared at the slightly cracked door and breathed heavily, tail lashing behind me. "I bet he looked."

Suddenly Keiichiro's voice was heard from downstairs. "Masaya! Put that knife down!"

Looking at Zakuro, I smiled. Masaya was such a cute dork sometimes.

Yawning, I rolled over in the bed and away from Masaya's loose hold on my waist. I made myself slowly sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I stretched out and arched my back, letting out another loud yawn. "You're letting cold air in," my boyfriend complained, pulling the covers closer around him and replacing me with a pillow.

"I love you, too." I snorted out, standing and walking over to the dresser to get some warm cloths on. After dressing, I left the room and walked downstairs. To my surprise, Lettuce was already up and sitting in the dining room, looking out the window while drinking from a steamy mug. "Good Morning."

"Ah, Ichigo," She smiled at me. "Good Morning. Sleep well?"

Stretching out again, I nodded. "Yeah, pretty well. What you drinking?"

"Cappuccino. Want some?" She motioned to a coffee pot full of hot water. "The packets are above it in the door."

I have never had cappuccino before, but I recalled Lettuce once saying that she started out every morning with a cup of it. "Sure," I opened the door above the coffee maker and slipped out a small pouch to pour in a mug.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm going to go running as soon as I finish this," I replied happily. "The tournament is coming soon and I need to be ready."

"Have you figured out a way...I mean..."

"Not yet," I told her, waving it off. "I still have time, we'll think of something." I stirred the frothy mixture slowly. "Is this stuff really that good?"

"It's the best."

Zipping up my coat, I checked my shoes one more time before opening up the door and heading outside. It was really cold, and the sun was just barely over the horizon, shedding only enough light to see. Playing the map of the resort in my mind, if I looped around from where I was and headed to the lounge, it would be roughly a mile or so if I ran on the outer circle. It wasn't as much as I was accustomed to, being on the track team, but it was good enough.

I started as a brisk walk, finding the small puffs of air in front of me amusing as I breathed. When I felt my heart start to beat a little faster, I picked up my pace to a light jog, and then to a nice sprint when my legs were used to moving fully again. My ears and tail came out next, manifested by my increased heartbeat. My ears were covered nicely by my cap and my tail was down the right pants leg of my snow pants. Annoying, yes, but soon it twitched on its own and wrapped itself loosely around my waist before drooping lazily the reminder of the way. Once again I wished I could tuck the tip of it under itself to keep it there.

Shrugging it off, I kept running. Perhaps I would stop by the lounge for a break later. We only had a few more days before we had to go back, and I intended to be sure to have all the fun I could before then. Smiling, I nodded to myself. "It's going to be a good day," I spoke aloud, now leaning forward and running full tilt. "Nothing is going to stop me from winning that competition!"

A/N: yay, chapter done. Not really pleased with this one, to be honest. I think it's a little boring. But anyway, Chapter 19 will be a little better and 20 will have enough action to make up for it all. If you haven't voted for the next story yet, now's the time to do so. As it stands, the next one will be Kish/Ichigo. Anyway, please review and look forward to the next chapter, which I _hope_ will be out tomorrow night. See you all there, nyan!


	19. A Truce? We'll All Fight Together!

It's hard to believe that it was already time to head back home. Already I was packing my suitcase and making sure I wasn't leaving anything behind. Masaya was on the other side of the room, also packing his things as well. It was weird seeing everything going back into luggage after living here for so long. Even after only a week, this place seemed to embed itself into my memories as one of the best times I have had. Sighing, I closed my suitcase and started to carry it to the door and haul it downstairs, where the others would be waiting soon.

**College Mew Mew 19**

**By: Satashi**

"All ready?" Keiichiro asked me as he loaded my luggage for me into the van. Nodding, I answered him and climbed in myself, sitting next to Pudding. She was holding a pillow and leaning against the window, sleeping lightly. The sun hadn't even come up yet, but it was a long drive back and most of us had classes in the morning as well.

Mint sat next to me, eyes drooping as well. Snuggling deeper into her coat, she sighed and rested her head against the headrest in front of her. In front of us, Zakuro and Lettuce were already seated. Ryou would be driving with Keiichiro in the passenger seat. Masaya would join us on the back row of the van, making it a tight and cramped fit.

"Start the van up already," I complained, hugging myself as the side door closed after Masaya hopped in. "I'm freezing."

The back of the van closed as well, and Keiichiro soon got into the driver's seat. "We're going to pick up Ryou at the lounge and then drive a bit before breakfast. Everyone okay with that?"

"As long as it involves heat, I'm okay for anything," Zakuro replied quickly.

The ride back home was long and uncomfortable, but we still stopped several times at random tourist traps along the way to take more pictures and buy different things that we would all lose within a week. I didn't mind, though. I had always loved road trips like this, and collecting small cute things as we went on them. I was sure that this would be the last one we all took together for a while, so I wanted to be sure I had many things to remember it by. Already I had taken over six rolls of film during the week, and was starting to work on my seventh one on the way home.

We dropped Lettuce off first, followed closely by Pudding. Zakuro was staying at an Extended Inn while filming here, so she was the next stop on the way back. Mint was next, soon followed by Masaya and myself. Not surprisingly, it was already night time by the time we got to our apartment. Unloading the van was slow and sleepy, and I just barely managed to give Keiichiro and Ryou a hug for taking us all with them on their vacation.

The sight of my apartment was nice to see, if not a little odd after living somewhere else for a while. Sitting the suitcase down, I turned on the heat and immediately started changing for bed, even if it was earlier than I normally went to sleep. I was tired and tomorrow would be the first day back to class after a much needed break. I felt ready for it, though, as Ryou had still tutored me at least an hour a day while gone.

Climbing into the bed, I snuggled against a pillow and closed my eyes, listening to Masaya talk to Mark on his cell phone, telling him we made it safely back and he would meet him early in the morning for the club gathering. After a moment, I felt the bed sink in and then his arms around my waist. Sighing contently, I purred lightly in my throat and was soon asleep, dreaming.

I smiled at my Japanese History teacher as I handed in the small three-ring binder that contained all of my make-up work and assignments. She was pleasantly surprised that I had actually done it, and promised me that she would look through and review it as soon as she could, and have my grade ready for me by next week. Bowing lightly, I said my thanks and then hurried off to my Track class.

My coach greeted me happily and my teammates and I all chatted with each other quickly about what we did over our vacation before having to start running laps across the field. Of course, this didn't stop us from continuing to talk through pants for air until our coach told us that if we didn't pay attention to where we were going we would have to make a few extra laps.

After class was over, my teacher called me off to the side for a quick word with me. "Momomiya, have you settled your little shyness issues yet?" She asked me, looking my attire over. Once again I was wearing a tight baseball cap and wind pants. "You know you have to wear the standard issued clothing when competing."

"I know," I answered her softly. "But, but what if you tell them that I-"

"Momomiya, you know I can't do that." She looked a little saddened for me. "Either you get over being shy with your body, or I Rachael will take your place for the competition. That's the bottom line." I felt my shoulders sag, and she placed her hands on them, trying to cheer me up. "Look, I know this means a lot to you, so place do your best, okay? It's only a pair of shorts, what are you so worried about? I see you all the time without that cap on as well. Why do you insist on wearing them?"

I flushed, thinking quickly of a way to answer her. "Good luck charms," I managed out weakly, smiling lightly as I did so.

She sighed at me. "Go get to your next class before you're late. I'll see you Wednesday."

"Yes mam." I turned and sprinted off to the changing room.

"So far it's been a good day," I told Keiichiro as I walked out of the changing room, now in my working cloths. "Although I missed my cat nap." I yawned as I walked over to him, covering my mouth half way though. "The big jerk, stealing my bed like that."

"It's his bed," He reminded me playfully before we heard the bell ring above the door. "Ah, our first customer of the day."

"I'm on it." I ran to the door to the café part of the restaurant and smiled. "Welcome! May I show you to a- oh, Masaya, Mark!"

"Yo." Mark waved, looking around. "Busy I see."

"They just opened." Masaya told him, shoving his arm lightly. "Come on, let's get some food."

"Tell her already man!"

"Mark, you ruin _everything, _you know that?"

"Hey, I try."

"Tell me what?" I asked, showing them to a table and handing them both menus. "If you're going to England again, I'm going to gnaw your ankles off."

Mark made a sound like a hissing cat, but shut up when Masaya kicked him under the table. As his best friend's eyes went wide and he sagged down to rub his shin, he spoke to me. "I'm not going anywhere, that's the thing. The Kendo tournament will be held here, in the dome."

"Oh wow, the same place as my track meet!?"

"Yup." He winked at me. "Everything is. It's going to be like a mini-Olympics for all the colleges around here. Just found out today."

"Oh wow!" I smiled brightly. "This is going to be really cool. I was worried about going off to a place I didn't know to do this."

"I'm kind of hungry; can you two save the flirting until after I eat please?"

"Oh, sorry!" I pulled the pen from my ear and my tablet from the pocket on my skirt. "What would you like today, Mark?"

He grinned. "Super double bacon cheeseburger and a large milkshake. Chocolate, of course."

"And after you have a heart attack from all that?" I teased him.

"Oh yeah. Greasy huh? Better give me a large order of fries as well. That should do it. Be sure to put this on the same ticket, Masaya's paying."

"Some friend you are." My boyfriend snorted out. "Give me the same, but I want a strawberry shake." He winked at me, making me blush and scribble a little on the order.

"Has to have fries with his shake," Mark cooed out as I walked off. I was about to yell at him, but I heard the chair scoot back and him yelp in pain from another kick from Masaya. "Dang man, that hurts! I'm going to kick you're-"

"Order up!" I shouted out, covering Mark's swearing. "Give my two friends some grease ball burgers would you?" I clipped the receipt onto the turner and spun it around for Keiichiro to look at. I was about to make some small talk with him while he cooked, but the door opened again. "Welcome!" I called out, returning. "May I show you to a table?"

"So that's it, huh?" Kish's voice floated through my cell phone clearly. I was amazed at this, considering he normally liked to hang out in a rip in our dimension. I figured his voice would be full of static. "Should I come now?"

"We're not all together yet. Zakuro, Masaya, and Pudding are here. Mint and Lettuce are closing at the café. They'll come with Ryou and Keiichiro. Ah, wait, I think that's them pulling up."

"Coming."

"Ah, Kish!" In the next moment, four aliens appeared into my apartment. Zakuro and Pudding shot into a standing position, but Masaya was already there, glaring at Kish as if he could kill him with just a look. "The first person to attack, I'm going to bite, understand me?" I glared at both of them. "We are going to discus a peace treaty here, and I will have none of your rivalry tonight. Are we clear?"

"Fine," Masaya fell back onto the couch.

Kish smirked. "I groove on that pissed off look."

Incred was about to open his mouth, but I glared at him as well. "That goes for you too." He shut it, and looked away, muttering to Kish something about 'I _told_ you she don't like me.'

A Moment later, my door was knocked on while it was being opened. Ryou walked into the living room first, nodding at the aliens in a professional manor. Following him, Keiichiro and the girls sat down as well on the couch. The aliens took to hovering in the air in a seated position since there weren't enough chairs or room for them.

After a small silence, Ryou spoke up. "I'll speak for our group."

"I'll speak for mine," Kish replied, now turning to him. "As you are aware, I have asked Ichigo to relay a message of a truce. I'm glad you want to discuss this with us."

"I am curious at why you want to do this," Ryou replied calmly. He never seemed to stop amazing me at how mature he could be, even after all this time. "Why now? Why not when you first came here?"

"At the time, it was not in our best interest." Kish told him. "We were going to collect them all and return before any type of war broke out. After battling against each other several times, I have come to realize that if we go into this last battle as a free-for-all...well..."

"People will die," I whispered, suddenly realizing it. Masaya put his arm around me, but I somehow didn't feel as comfortable as I normally did.

"And the terms of this truce are?"

Kish floated in the air a moment, debating how to word his next statement. "We will fight against Saucer and his group with you. With our power, you should not have to use the Mew Aqua to battle. We'll risk our lives to help you, asking only in return that you give us whatever was not used in the battle to save our planet."

"How do we know you are not lying?"

I was about to tell Ryou not to say such things, but Kish spoke first. "I wouldn't lie about something as important as saving countless lives. They are waiting on us, hoping that we can spare them from the harsh conditions of their planet." Kish looked over at me a moment before looking back at Ryou. "I pledge my life that it's the truth."

He held out his hand, forming a medium size box. Opening it up, he revealed several small vials containing what looked like a clear liquid of pure energy. "These are our Mew Aqua drops," He explained, flying down just enough to place it on the table. "You can keep them until the battle is over. We are prepared to do everything we can before using these. Even dieing."

I gasped, felling my throat go dry. "As long as one of us survives, we will have completed our mission. We will _not_ use these to fight." Kish was...not sure he would survive? Is Saucer really that strong?

Ryou looked at the box a moment before motioning to it. "May I?" After getting a nod from Pai, he pulled out a vile and then reached under his shirt to pull out a necklace that had a seal around one of our drops. Checking it, he nodded. "They're real alright." Turning to us, he spoke again. "Girls. Have you all decided?"

Zakuro was the first to lean forward, setting down two small crystals like containers holding her drops. "We will win easily if we work together."

Pudding sat down three small drops. "I'll fight with them." She looked at Tart and smiled. "I'll fight with Tart."

Tart blushed and looked away.

Mint placed her single drop down, followed By Lettuce's drop as well. The two looked at each other and nodded. Finally it was done to me. Swallowing, I pulled the ribbon off my wrist and unclipped three small vials from it, setting them down as well. "Here are all of mine."

The clutter of drops all seemed to shine together, pulsating a light that filled the room and my heart all at once. I felt warm, strong, just like I did all those years ago when I had held an actual pure source. It was calming and invigorating all at the same time. Every ounce of my body wanted to call out in pleasure and relax in the feeling too.

When I opened my eyes, there were four small crystal bottles with a heart shaped stopper in each. Everyone seemed to be looking at them. Finally, I reached out and picked one up. "It feels...nice." I spoke out, smiling. "It's a Mew Aqua pure source...Just like I remember."

"Four," Kish stated, looking at them. "Incred, how many did they have?"

"At most three."

"What?" I looked up at him. "There's no way! I got one of your pure sources already and used it!"

"You think the only time we got a drop was when we ran into you?" He asked, amazed. "Of course we got several without having to fight, just like you did!"

"Calm down, no need to shout." Kish told him, waving it off. "Even if they have three, we have one more than them...If...If it comes down to it, we can use them and still have one to take back. That will be enough to survive to make a new source of power to let us live on the surface."

"So it's a deal." Ryou stood and extended his hand. "Truce. We work as a team."

Kish hovered over to him and shook Ryou's hand, a sight I _never_ thought I'd ever see. "Truce," Kish replied with a smile. "Together nothing can stop us."

"Are you okay, Ichigo?" Masaya asked me, sitting down on the bed and placing a hand on my back. I didn't answer him right off. Instead I shifted lightly to get more comfortable and make room for him so he wouldn't be sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I don't know," I finally spoke after what seemed like a long while. Turning to look at him, I asked the question that has been on my mind ever since earlier that evening. "Masaya...Is everything going to be okay?"

"I..." He paused a moment to think. "I think it will be okay if you believe in yourself and the others." His hand rubbed my back lightly. It felt really nice and soothing. "Don't worry, Ichigo, it's nine against four. It will be over before you know it."

"Last time it was six on three and we still barely won..." His hand stopped rubbing and instantly I felt horrible. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. I know." His hand started to move again, but I still felt bad about brining up the past about him and Deep Blue. "No one is as powerful as Deep Blue, I know better than anyone. Not Even the Blue Knight can stand up to that kind of power." His hand went to my head, where it fingered my hair. "And yet, Kish can fight evenly with Saucer and fend him off. I can beat Kish with only a little difficulty. With everyone else, it won't last more than twenty minuets. Ichigo, you can stay here."

"I can't."

"You can." He moved and was laying half on top of me, holding both my hands. "No one has to fight. I'll do everything I can so you won't have to."

"Thanks, but we both know I will."

"I'm sorry this has to happen."

I shook my head lightly. "Nuh-uh. It's no one's place to apologize for it." Turning to look at him, I gave him a small smile to reassure him. "I'm glad you care. It means a lot to me. I'll be able to do this as long as you're by me."

I felt his lips touch mine and I knew that with him we would be able to prevail over the aliens. With everyone together we could do it.

It will be okay.


	20. The Final Battle? World's Collide

Time always seemed to fly past you when you didn't want it to, and slow down when you want the day to just be over with already. Today was one of those times. Already a week has passed since our meeting with Kish and the other aliens, and all of us were getting nervous. We could launch our attack whenever we wanted to, as Incred knew where the enemy was, but that would mean fighting them on their home turf, and any disadvantage against us that we could avoid, we would avoid. Also we wanted it to be after our competitions. If we were hurt, which we all knew we would be, in the battle, at least this way it wouldn't interfere with our normal lives.

**College Mew Mew Final**

**By: Satashi**

"I can't do this," I complained, letting my head fall against the table and my pencil roll away from me. "This sucks. I'm supposed to be saving the world, not learning about how Japan almost fell to the new emperor a thousand years ago... Ryou, I don't want to do this report. I'm three quarters there already, can't I just BS the rest of the way through it?"

"You _could_, but since you _failed_ this the first time around, I suggest you sit up, take your pencil, and keep going." Ryou told me before pulling my ponytail and forcing me to sit up.

"Ryou, it's three in the morning, I just want to go home and sleep." I yawned and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Masaya is already worried about me staying up as late as it is. Can I go home? Please?"

"As soon as you finish typing what you just underlined in your book, spell check it all, and give sightings on everything we got information from. Which, luckily for you, I kept up with so you'll only have to type it and print it out." He showed me a sheet of paper that had the listings on it. "Honestly, Ichigo, this is grade school work."

"Says the person who got his PHD when he was twelve," I snorted and took the paper from him, glanced it over, and began to finish typing what was in the book. "I better ace this, or I'm going to be mad as hell."

"Good, then you'll act how you look."

"Ryou, you better be glad I'm too sleepy to hit you right now, because you just lost ten points on the nice scale."

"There's a nice scale?" He asked, looking amazed.

"Yes, but don't worry, you're normally no where close to it, so it shouldn't impact you too much."

"Che, and I was going to offer to proof read this for you too!"

"Ryou, darling, did I mention how much I _really_ appreciate you doing this for me?"

"Finally, it's over." I exclaimed, dropping down onto my bed and sighing in relief. I felt great and tired at the same time. I had just turned in my last bit of make-up work from the time I missed when my dorm room caught on fire. Thinking back on it, I was glad that it was written off as a hot water heater blowing up. Turns out that no one even saw the battle in the parking lot, although several cars were damaged during it.

Rolling over onto my back, I looked up at the ceiling and smiled. "Just a few more weeks and the midterms will be over, the tournament will be over, and the war will be over. I'll have three months to do whatever I want, whenever I want." I grinned. Talking to myself had somewhere become a habit for the last few months for some reason.

Looking over onto the wall, I looked at the calendar. The 'College Olympics', as it was being called now, would start on Saturday, day after tomorrow. Masaya was at his kendo club right now, training. This would be their last session before the tournament. My last track practice was today too; to give our legs time to rest. As long as we did stretching exercises everyday, we would be in top condition for the meet.

As for what I was going to do? I still don't know how I'll hide my ears from everyone, let alone my tail. Thinking about my tail made it come out, giving me a quick weird feeling. I don't think I would ever get used to actually _feeling_ it grow out, even if it didn't even take a full second for it to happen. Reaching back, I gripped my tail at its base and gently pulled it out the top of my pants to look at it. "You know what?" I asked, watching it twitch around, trying to get free. "You're a real pain in the butt."

"Says the girl to her tail," Masaya laughed, jumping onto the bed, making me bounce. "Hi there. What you up to?"

"Nothing," I looked up at him. "Why are you so happy today?"

"You're looking at the starting contendant of the Kendo circle of the tournament." He bit into an apple that he was carrying. "I'm going to start the whole thing off with my match."

"Oh wow, that's amazing!" I sat up a little bit and hugged him, a little awkward from my position. "Congratulations Honey."

"Thanks." He shifted me around so I was lying against him, halfway in his lap. He bit into his apple again and gave me his classic smile. "I'm going to smite them all. Wha-pow!" He motioned with his free hand, as if he was hitting someone with a sword.

"You just do that, I patted his chest before leaning forward and stealing a chunk of his apple.

"Hey, that's mine." He moved it out of my reach and bit into it again, grinning as he chewed.

"Idiot." I laughed and shook my head.

So here I was. Swallowing thickly, I looked around at the several hundred people around me. I had only been in the dome once before, to watch Masaya's trials for the kendo contestant in the tournament. Nervously, I fidgeted with the hem of my jacket with my free hand. My other hand was currently holding onto Masaya's in one of our rare moments. Normally we were either all over each other or not touching at all. Holding hands was something I liked but didn't do quite often for some reason.

I stepped a little closer to him and held his hand a little tighter, getting more nervous as the moments ticked by. There were several people crowding me, waiting to get some sort of refreshments or find their seats in one of the many, many rows of bleachers. Currently I was a little too warm for my comfort. I had on a light long sleeve shirt with a heavy jacket over it. I decided to wear a pair of tight blue jeans today as well. My Running cloths were in Masaya's duffle bag, along with his kendo gear.

All of the events were to be held inside the giant building; Kendo, Tennis, Track, Karate, and even Swimming in the adjoining building later tonight. As for me, I would be in the stands until the Kendo portion was completed, then I would get ready for the running while the Karate section was going on. I griped Masaya's hand tighter as I thought about it. Looking down at me, he gave the best reassuring look he could before letting go of my hand and starting to walk away with the group that had just came up to us.

Waving at him as he walked with his team mates, I mouthed out 'I love you' to him, making him smile and nod, giving me a 'you too' kind of look. When he rounded a corner, I suddenly felt very alone. Even if I was starting to get cramped more and more by new people coming in, I didn't really feel like they were there. I was nervous and felt a little sick to my stomach from it. I didn't manage to get much sleep the night before and I didn't even eat any breakfast this morning either.

"Ichigo!"

Turning to the sound of someone calling my name, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Mark waving over to me with Zakuro next to him. "You made it!" I greeted them, hugging Zakuro and smiling at Mark before he pulled me into a half hug and giving me a noogie.

"I told you before I would take off for this," Zakuro told me as I tried to fix my hair. "Mark and I met up outside. We saw Lettuce but couldn't get to her before we lost track of her."

"Probably already sitting down," I spoke my thoughts aloud. "Maybe we should go ahead and ourselves."

Before I knew it, I was cheering on my boyfriend from the stands. His sword clashed against his opponents several times. So far they had to stop, step back and await a decision more than just a few times, but no points have been awarded just yet. The level of skill being displayed was shocking to me, even though I was already accustomed to seeing Masaya battle in his Kendo class. No wonder only the best of the best from each college would participate. Masaya, the Blue Knight, was battling someone who was holding his own against him.

"Why doesn't he just go Blue on them and get it over with?" Pudding asked after Masaya's opponent was finally granted the first point.

"Because," I answered her. "Even if Masaya gets two of the three points easily, if his form isn't correct, he could still lose the battle. They are ranked on form, precision, and prestige. The Blue Knight uses an old-style form of one handed swords. Kendo uses both hands and has a very strict form. Notice how they always sit so still and stuff? That's good form."

"I told her that yesterday," Mark told Pudding after she looked impressed.

"What if you don't call out which section of the body you're attacking when you strike?" Lettuce asked me, making me look to Mark.

"It's bad sportsmanship. Its bad _form_ if you call out an attack and it gets-"

"Face!"

Clack!

I looked down at the floor, where Masaya just blocked an attack. "Side!" He swung out, and hit his opponent. Both stopped, bowed, and took a step back before kneeling down.

"Ah, see there? Masaya probably has it in the bad now unless he trips and falls flat on his face or something." Mark said, before standing up. "Woohoo! Good job Masaya!"

I blushed darkly as several people all looked at us. "It's _really_ bad form to shout like that..."

Oh this _really _sucked. Masaya was in his final match for first place, and here I was; stuck in a locker room being given what uniform to wear. My coach was there as well, smiling at me as I was handed the uniform. When the official left, I looked at it and knew at once I couldn't wear it. "...Coach..."

"Momomiya... You can do this. It's okay. No one will be looking at your body; everyone will be wearing the same. Don't feel shy."

"...It's not that..." I smiled at her uneasily. "I just...can't. I _have_ to wear wind pants and my cap..."

"You _can't_ here." She pointed out. "Mo... Ichigo, you _can _do this."

"But, I-"

"I've already tried for you... you can't. You have to wear this. It's the rules."

I felt my eyes get misty. "I...can't..."

"_Why_?"

A tear went down my cheek, followed by another. "I can't..."

My coach looked at me a moment before turning her gaze away. "I'll go get Rachael."

The words hit me hard. As she turned away, I felt my heart break and my dreams come upon me as if I was physically hit. Collapsing down onto the bench, I put my face into my hands and sobbed out. Tears leaked through my fingers and dripped onto my legs. I heard several cheers from upstairs and then an announcer stating that my boyfriend had won the match.

I hugged myself tightly, crying harder. I had missed one of the biggest moments in his life so I could participate in mine, only to have it ripped away from me. Waking up at five in the morning to run every day, practicing all the time during the week, even doing stretches every morning to keep my legs nimble. I did it all. I did it all for nothing.

Slowly I stood up and angrily wiped the tears from me face. I took a few steps to the door, and looked up when it opened, revealing Rachael and my coach again. Seeing her, I tried my best to smile. "Don't give them any slack," I told her walking past. The look on her face could only be surprised as completely happy. My dreams had been handed over to her on a silver platter. Forcefully wiping my face again with my sleeve, I continued my way out.

I was only half way up the stairs to the main floor when it happened. The ground shook violently and an explosion rang out loudly. Several people were screaming and starting to run around. Worried, I shoved my way through the crowd to where my friends were and somehow managed to get to them.

"What's going on!?" I shouted over the noise of another small explosion.

"_That_!" Mark replied, screaming and pointing to the open area of the floor. All four of the aliens invading earth were there. Saucer was in the lead, causing the most havoc around. Apparently he must have thought that the place we were in would be the best for our final battle.

"Ichigo!" I felt arms around me a moment before I realized that Masaya was there too. "Come on, let's go!" He demanded. Of course we knew what he meant. We needed to go and find a place to change so we could battle.

"It's coming this way!" Lettuce suddenly screamed, pointing.

Turning around I had just enough time to realize that a large blast of energy was streaming right at us. I opened my mouth to scream, but the voice wasn't mine. Shocked, I saw Mark standing next to Masaya, both of them having taken the blast to protect the rest of us. "You girls go..." He chocked out, obviously hurt badly. "Me and Masaya will distract them until you're safe..."

"Mark..."

"What are friends for?" He asked weakly, ginning at Masaya lightly. "Go girls, I can't take another blast like that...I'll protect my friends...no matter what..."

"Mark..." Masaya's eyes softened a moment as another attack was shot at us. "I'm sorry Mark, but I'll protect you instead." He moved quickly in front of him and took a firm stance in front of us all. Everything seemed to slow down for him as Mark's voice started to protest. Then I finally realized what was happening. "Blue Abyss!" He was going to change...in front of his best friend. "Metamorphosis!"

The blast of telekinetic energy was deflected easily and the Blue Knight now stood in place of Masaya. His sword was already drawn and ready to fight. "Girls, get Mark to a safe place."

"You...You're...I mean...you are...that is..."

"Come on Mark," I put one of his arms around my shoulder. "We're getting you out of here."

"It can't be..." Mark was dazed and weak, bleeding lightly in several places. "Masaya is...but that means...that means!" He looked at me, eyes going wide. "You're the cat, aren't you?"

I was busted. "That doesn't matter right now," I scolded him, helping him out of the now almost empty area. "Girls, in there!" I nodded to the dressing room where I just came from. "It should be empty now!"

"I can go on my own." Mark pulled away from me and limped a little bit away. "You have a job to do, Mew Mew." He winced, but still managed to give me a weak thumbs up. "We'll talk later. Be careful, and take care of that idiot friend of mine."

I felt so much better hearing him say that. "Thank you Mark." I bowed at him lightly before getting serious again and running into the changing room. Once inside I shouted out the words of my transformation out of habit rather than actually needing to. I don't know why, but I liked doing it. It made me feel more ready for the battle at hand when I shouted out while transforming.

Changed and ready, I nodded at the other girls. We all ran back outside and over to where the main battle was taking place. The Blue Knight was clashing against Saucer while the others were being tackled by Kish and his gang as well. All of us instantly split up as well.

I chose to run over to Masaya to help him battle against their leader. Upon reaching him, Kish flew up from behind Saucer and gashed his back. Masaya took advantage of the distraction to slash wickedly across his chest as well. Calling my bell, I instantly swiped it across the air, sending a blast of energy into him and making him fly against the wall.

"It's two-on-one everywhere, and two people are three-on-one!" Kish exclaimed, grinning. "This won't take more than five minutes."

"You obviously underestimated me."

Before Kish could look at the voice, he was blasted clear across the room and into the wall. Not stopping there, he flew literally through it and crashed down finally to a halt in the room next to us.

Gasping, I looked over at Saucer. Me was radiating a type of yellowish energy that didn't seem to stop flowing from him. "He's using a Mew Aqua," I realized after only a moment of seeing him. "That power..."

Masaya yelled out and ran forward, clashing against him repetitively until he was finally hit and slung into the ground, making it crack out in all around him. Not knowing what else to do, I jumped into the air and kicked Saucer across the face. My eyes went wide and I yelped out in pain when I was able to land. My entire foot felt bruised, as if I had kicked a wall or something. Saucer, however, only looked amused at me.

"Ribbon Zakuro's Pure!"

A whip of light lashed out around Saucer's neck and tightened. His stance was thrown off and his hands instantly went to clutch at his throat, so he could somehow get some more air into his system. Looking over to where she was, I noticed that Kei was knocked unconscious on the floor and Pai was now helping Pudding and Tart fight against Black Rose.

Saucer finally grabbed the whip that was holding him and ran toward Zakuro, tackling the girl down. She managed to get her foot into his stomach and push off, sending him flying. I noticed that Yosuke and Black Rose were now being fought against at a huge handicap of either three on one or four on one.

Kish managed to get back to us by the time that Saucer had recovered from the attack launched onto him. Standing, he shook his head lightly to try and clear it. When he looked up at me, I felt a small twinge of fear as the mew aqua's power he invoked earlier flared up around him. Before I could even move, he had blurred past me and slammed his fist into Zakuro's' stomach. Her eyes went wide and slowly she bent over before her eyes rolled back into her head and she sagged.

"She got Zakuro...In one hit..." I mouthed out, too shocked and scared to actually understand it. I saw my other friends dart past me to attack as well. Everyone else was already floored who went against us. Only Saucer was left.

But he only seemed to move a little and Pudding collapsed. Her body was already bruised and hurt, and she didn't look like she would be able to get up again. "I didn't...even see him..." She coughed out, cringing. "So fast..."

"Ichigo!"

I snapped back to my senses and ran forward, where Saucer was single handed fending off the Blue Knight, Kish, Mint, and Lettuce at the same time. Jumping into the mix, I punched and twisted several times, but only managed to land one or two hits in. It seemed to go on like this for hours, but I knew it was only a few minutes before our only opponent flew backwards and phased out as Mint's arrow shot through the space he previously was.

"I grow tired of this game," He growled at us as we regrouped. Masaya, Mint, Lettuce, Kish, Incred, Pai, Tart, and I were all still standing and able to fight, but he didn't seem to be the least bit worried about it. "Let's end this shall we?" His voice was cool and calm, dripping with venom. "I'll make fast work of you and then have my own people on this planet before any of you realize that you are already dead."

"You're the one who's dead!" Kish called. "You just don't know it yet!"

"Is that so?" He snarled, taking two vials out from his cloak.

"Mew Aqua!" Pai shouted out, swinging his fan. "Get them!"

"Too late!" He smashed the vials together in his hands, making glass fly out around his fist.

I was blinded by the light. It was everywhere, so bright that even with my eyes closed and arms shielding my face I couldn't seem to get away from it. It finally started to recede, and I was able to once again look at who we were up against.

My mouth went dry.

Saucer no longer looked as he did before. Several small transparent wings were behind him, keeping him afloat in the air. His face had two yellow stripes on it, just under his eyes- which were pure white. Long blond hair fell behind him and splashed out against his yellow tinted robe-like clothing.

He held up his right hand and formed a ball of light into it. His mouth opened and he spoke a single word: "Die."

The ball shot forward and slammed into Mint. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell without restraint flat onto the ground.

"Ichi...go..." I turned to the sound, only to see Lettuce falling weakly down.

"Lettuce..."

She hit the ground as well.

"No...No...No..."

I heard the battle going on around me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at it. Mint, Pudding, Zakuro, and now Lettuce were all grounded. Already they couldn't fight anymore and I haven't even been hit once yet. Our battle had not even been going on for ten minutes and one man had taken my entire team down.

"This...this isn't happening" I spoke to myself, sinking to my knees. "This can't be...its impossible..."

The yells from the other aliens told me that their battle was not going any better than what I had just seen. Saucer was infused with the power of three mew aquas all at once, and was fighting with a power so great that I had no idea if we could even beat him or not.

"Ichigo!" I felt hands roughly grab my shoulders and shake me. "Snap out of it!" I looked up at Ryou, who didn't look too pleased at all. "Get up and fight Ichigo!" Reaching into his jacket pocket, he took out a necklace with four small sections in it. Forcing it over me, I started to explain. "They are mew aquas. You can use them just like he can, but listen first! They amplify your desires inside of your heart. You must think clearly on what you need. Put them into your bell, it would probably be the best choice. You're small body can't handle it the way he uses them.

I looked back over at the battle just in time to see the Blue Knight get punched across the face and kicked away from him. Seething out, I got up and ran over to them, grasping the necklace. "Sorry, Ryou," I spoke out as I ran, power starting to surge within me. "I have no choice but to use them to their maximum ability..."

I felt a white hot light envelop me. It consumed all of my being at once. I felt stronger, faster, and smarter. A burning sensation on my cheeks let me know that I too was graced with a mark from the power. Two pink triangular strips blessed my cheeks as my normal Mew Mew outfit was turned a lighter shade of pink and started to borderline a faint white in color.

Saucer looked shocked to see me, giving me just enough time to run at him and ball my hand into a fist, crashing it against his face. A small shockwave of power shot out around us as his head was forcefully jerked to the side. For some reason I felt proud of myself, and wanted to do it again. Taking the chance, I lashed out with my other hand, connecting it into his gut and making him bend over.

Power...I felt the power...

I gripped both my hands together above my head and slammed it down onto the back of his neck. Saucer instantly slammed into the ground below me. The concrete shattered in a flurry of dust and pebbles. Saucer, however, quickly pushed up and grabbed my ankle. Before I knew what happened next I was ripped from my feet and swung like a bat into the wall next to us.

A sharp searing pain went over me, but I had no time to think on it. I was pulled away and swung over his head into the ground.

Power...I wanted more power...

Reaching to my necklace, I summoned forth a second mew aqua source. Saucer was forced away, and I once again felt the raw burning power within me. I started to get light headed and felt the urge to fight get more and more.

"She's going into a berserker high!" Kish shouted, pointing at me while I absorbed the power. "She can't handle the power of the Mew Aqua like that! We have to stop her!"

"Yeah but how?" Masaya retorted, looking over at me. "I can't even go near her!"

I felt weird. I wanted to actually hurt Saucer now for some reason. Gone was the idea of simply beating him and forcing him to leave. I wanted revenge. I wanted to make him suffer for what he did to me and my friends. Yes, that was it. This was revenge. Revenge for going against me. For running my life. I wanted to hurt him more and more.

"Ichigo! Ichigo! Listen to me!"

"I don't want to," I answered Kish, grinning. "I want to fight."

"Ichigo!" Masaya was calling to me now. "That's not you! You're getting too much power; it's starting to control you! The Mew Aqua amplifies your personal feelings to do what it needs to do! You're too unstable right now to be using them!"

"I don't care," I cooed out, looking at Saucer, who was glaring at me. "I feel fine." My words were starting to slur and I only cared about fighting Saucer now.

Dashing forward, I clashed against him, exchanging blow after blow in a never ending dance of fist and energy flares. I had my Bell in one hand, slashing it out to send a blast of power when I could and used my other hand to punch and block his attempts on hurting me. Finally I managed to land a sharp right hook on him and then blast him point blank with my bell's power.

Saucer skidded across the ground and his power faded away slowly. I walked forward in a slow pace, grinning sickly. He was getting weaker. I could beat him now...I could even kill him if I wanted to...

"Ichigo!" Masaya got in front of me. "It's over, he's down! Let us handle the rest of it.

"No!" I screamed out, suddenly angry. "He hasn't suffered enough yet!"

"Ichigo!"

"He stole my life from me!" I screamed, energy flaring around me. "Because of him, my powers came back! Because of him, I couldn't run anymore! Because of him I couldn't study! I almost failed all of my classes! He made me study for several hours a day just to be able to scrape by! I hate him!"

I reared back and slapped Masaya out of my way. "Power...I want more power..."

"No!" Kish flew over to me, pleading. "Don't use another! Ichigo, you're losing control! Don't condemn my planet for this! _Think_ Ichigo!"

"Ichi...go..." I looked over to see Mint, looking up at me from the ground. A small trail of blood was leaking from her lip and her eyes were only opened partly. "Stop...."

"Ichigo..." Lettuce looked at me from the ground, lying on her back. "This isn't like you..."

"Please...please stop, Ichigo..." Pudding was crying.

I was confused now. "But...but..." I sank to my knees and gripped my head. "It keeps calling to me! 'Fight! Fight!' It won't shut up!"

"That's not your heart speaking." Masaya kneeled down in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders, even though I had an aura around me burning him. "You are just confused. Let it go, Ichigo...you'll be fine."

"I'm...I'm scared." I coughed out, sobbing now. "This power, it's too much..."

"He's getting up!"

I looked over at Saucer, who was standing. Despite him having used so many Mew Aqua's on himself, his power was fading quickly. He was seething mad, and glaring over at me as if he could kill me with just a look.

I felt the urge to battle once again rise up in me, and my lips turned into smile. "I can fight some more..."

"NO!"

I pushed Masaya away gently and stood up, a whitish pink aura flaring around me. Hurt him... make him pay... kill him...

He launched a psychic attack on me, making me lurch backwards. The next moment he was in front of me, crashing a pair on nun chucks across my face. I felt the pain stab deep within me and my head lurch to the side. I saw my friends as my view changed and I staggered back, getting hit again.

Flying back, I shook my head and held it. "No... I don't want this..." The power started to fade around me again, quickly giving me my mind back. "I don't want to fight like this..."

Saucer screamed out, forming two large white balls in his hands and bringing them together as one. My eyes went wide as it was shot at me. Just one of them broke one of my partners enough so she couldn't fight...Two of them like this and I would surely...

Time went in slow motion as it came toward me. I somehow managed to look at all of my friends one last time. Masaya was running to me, but I knew he wouldn't make it. Seeing him again made me happy. At least I knew I got to tell him I loved him one last time this time. Looking over some more, I saw Kish, struggling with his wounds to try and reach me. He too was too far away to stop it. 'I'm sorry, Kish' I sent to him with my look. I turned back again to the ball of energy that was almost upon me. '_So this is how it ends,_' my mind thought as my eyes closed, accepting my death.

The scream of pain was long and hard. It rang out loudly, heard by everyone still around. It was full of sadness of death, a farewell shout to the world as life was being ripped from its body. It was only then did I realize that it wasn't my lungs letting out the earth chilling scream of pain. Opening my eyes, I saw the blast end and Incred's body fall on top of me.

"Can't let...my best friend's...girl die....you know?"

I couldn't even say anything as his eyes closed and he sagged down, lifeless. My mouth opened several times to try and speak, but no words came. The weight was heavy on me, and something warm and sticky was flowing down the front of my outfit.

"In...cred...? Buddy...?" Kish fell down next to me. "Incred...hey...Buddy, come on..." His voice was cracking, eyes flowing with tears.

"Kish..."

"He's not dead!" He screamed at me, grabbing his body and shaking it. "He's playing! Isn't that right buddy? You're just trying to make me mad so I'll fight for you, right? Right? Right!?"

"Kish..."

"Shut up! Shut _up_! He'll be okay... He'll be... he'll...oh god..."His body bent over his friend's and hugged him close. "Incred..."

Standing up slowly, I looked over at Saucer, who only seemed to be disappointed that it wasn't me that Kish was crying over. I felt a soft glowing power rise up inside of me then. It was calm and collective. Not at all like the raging fierceness of a Mew Aqua used in anger instead of to help out the earth. This was familiar to me, comforting. "Saucer," I spoke his name softly, looking over at him. "For everyone on this planet. For everyone on your planet. For the lives that you have took. For the lives you would have taken....I'm going to stop you right here. Right now. I swear it."

I held up my hand and my strawberry bell came faithfully to me. "Ribbon."

Saucer yelled out, forming another set of white hot light into orbs.

"Strawberry."

He reared back and slung the ball at me with everything that he had left in him.

"_Check_!"

The blast coming from my bell shot out so hard I felt the ground under me shatter with only the force of it. Saucer's eyes widened at the sight of his ultimate attack being smothered by mine as if it was nothing. His voice screamed out in pain before going silent. The blast continued to soar, hitting the wall across the room and destroying it before finally fading out.

"It's...over..." I said softy as everyone was pushing themselves up. "Finally...finally it's over..." I sank to my knees and fell forward, being caught by Masaya as I lost my transformation. Looking up at him, I managed to smile a little. He was no longer transformed either. It really was over now.

Closing my eyes, I felt my body finally give into the tiredness that hung to it and submitted myself to the darkness and passed out.


	21. College Mew Mew? We Did Our Best!

Sometimes I just don't know what to think. After the battle I had awoken in the school hospital in a privet room. Apparently three days have passed since the ordeal, and things were finally calming down around campus. I had used up so much of my energy during the final battle that I had been put in a small coma up until now. Stretching out, I thought back on everything that happened and was glad that it was over.

**College Mew Mew Epilog**

**By: Satashi**

"Ichigo, you're awake." Masaya greeted me, walking into my room. He sat down a vase of flowers and then placed himself in a chair beside my bed. "Thank goodness. I was beginning to worry."

"I'm okay, is everyone else fine?" I looked over at him as he took my hand. "I've been so worried."

"They're fine, don't sweat it." He thumped his chest. "They're all strong, you know that. In about a week or two, everyone will be as good as new."

"How is Incred...?"

Masaya looked to the side, not answering.

"He's...dead isn't he?"

He answered me with a short nod. "Yeah. The aliens took him somewhere to bury him after the battle and everyone was taken care of. None of us have seen them yet."

"I see..."

"They'll come back to see us before they go. We saved two aquas for them."

"Oh my god," I shouted out, suddenly realizing. "Masaya, we untransformed in front of a lot of people!"

"Its fine," He grinned lightly. "You know how since every college in the area were going to compete? We had college news covering it all. Everything on our transformations was censored out completely. I guess they didn't want anyone else to find out. A way of saying thanks for protecting them, I guess."

"And Mark?"

"He's freaking, of course." He shook his head and grinned. "Keeps wanting to see me change."

"Sounds like him." I fell back onto the bed and sighed. "When can I go home?"

"Tonight. They said you could go as soon as you woke up.

I smiled and stretched out. "Good. I need some peace and quiet."

It was weird being at the apartment again once again after everything was over. The looming sense of danger and the feeling of dread was no longer hanging thick in the air. No longer did I have to worry about being attacked at any given moment and worry if everyone else was okay as well. I didn't have to worry about Masaya going to the store by himself and not coming back after an hour or so. It felt really nice, and I was thankful for it.

I was alone currently, wrapped in a blanket and watch the T.V. A mug of hot chocolate was in my hands, warming them comfortably. When I felt someone behind me, I just assumed it was my boyfriend, coming back from his class. I was surprised, however, when Kish sat down next to me and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands.

"We're heading back tomorrow," He spoke after a while. "I feel weird. I never once thought about how I would feel when I had to leave again..." turning to me, he gave me a faint smile. "I'm going to miss you. I don't know if we can talk from so far away with our communication device or not, but I'm hoping for the best."

"Are you okay, Kish?" I asked him, worried.

His face softened and before I knew it, he was laying down on the couch, head rested on my lap. "It's my fault," He whispered. "I never told him that you rejected me in the kiss. He died saving my lover that I didn't have."

I didn't know what to say to him. Instead I gently ran my fingers through his hair and let him rest on me. After a few moments, Kish opened his mouth again to once more speak. "We'll always remember him. He'll go down in all of our history books as a hero who sacrificed himself to save our planet." He shifted a little so he was looking up at me. "I think he'd like that. Always had an ego, that Incred."

Looking down at him, I nodded lightly in agreement. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"This is enough," He replied, closing his eyes and sighing. "Just keep doing what you're doing."

I nodded and smiled, playing with his hair. Observing his face, I noticed he was a little troubled. Slowly a tear came through his closed eyes, then another. He didn't move to hide them; only let them slowly trail down his cheeks and into his hair. Gently I finger combed his hair as he silently cried for his lost friend and all the emotions he had kept up in himself since the war had started. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but it seemed to pass by in a flash before he sat up and opened his eyes, finally wiping away the salty water that had graced them. "Would you mind if I said goodbye right now?" He asked me, with a light grin.

"Okay." I nodded at him, feeling a little heart broken that he was really going to go again. There was no reason for him to ever come back this time. I would probably never see him again. "But before you do, here..." I reached under my shirt and pulled out my necklace that still had two shining tear drops in it. "This is yours."

"...Thank you," He took the necklace from me and put it around himself. "I'll try and contact you again sometime. So take care of yourself okay?"

"Of course. You too, okay? Don't get into too much trouble."

"Never." He smiled again, this time really meaning it. "I'm glad I met you, Ichigo."

"Same here." I hugged him close, feeling my eyes sting. He was more than a fast friend this time around. He meant something to me, in a weird sort of way. Like the best friend you've always had but never really thought of like that until they were gone for good. Sniffing, I pulled back and pecked his cheek. "You're going to make some girl really happy someday."

"I'll try." He looked at me one last time before nodding. "Goodbye Ichigo. I love you."

"I know. You too Kish. Be safe." He faded away from me without another word, leaving me with the fleeting image of his smiling face.

Feeling alone again, I hugged myself a moment before returning to my hot chocolate, feeling the warmth slide down my throat and cheer me up a little. It was time to start living again. And I was sure I could do it.

--------A few years later-------------

"Hurry up, Ichigo, he's waiting on you!"

"I know, I know!" I beamed out, fixing my veil. Mint fluttered around me, fixing my dress in various places to make sure it was perfect. "Do I look okay? Is my hair right?"

"You're beautiful," Lettuce confirmed for me

"He'll be speechless!" Pudding added in, smiling brightly.

I was so nervous I had trouble standing straight. My wedding dress clung to my tightly and flared out at my waist, going down in several layers of lace and silk. I licked my lips, tasting lipstick that was lightly flavored with strawberries. I heard the wedding march start to play and then my dad was next to me, smiling and fighting back tears. "Come on, Daddy," I comforted him, taking his arm and turning to the door. "Walk me down the isle, Daddy, it's about that time. Does my wedding dress look pretty, Daddy? Daddy, don't cry."

He smiled brightly at me and wiped his face. The doors opened and my bride's maids walked through first, arm in arm with their boyfriends and Masaya's friends. After Zakuro pasted by, the music changed and everyone inside stood up. I then started walking with my father down the long isle of the church.

Masaya looked so handsome, standing there in his tuxedo. He was so mature, smiling at me as I walked, awed at how I looked. The church was packed full of people. Friends, parents, family, and almost everyone that I've met along my way of life.

"Who gives away this girl?" Keiichiro asked my father, playing the role of our preacher. This time it was real, though. Ryou had paid for everything himself and Keiichiro was going to wed us legally this time.

"I, her father, give her away." My Dad spoke, taking my hand and placing it into Masaya's. My fiancée met my eyes and winked at me.

Keiichiro's words flew smoothly over the church, and I almost lost myself in them, blushing at the vows and replying quickly to when he asked me if I would take Masaya as my husband. I heard a few people giggle at this, Including Pudding, who quickly covered it up. Turning to Masaya, I smiled. "And does this lady have a ring to represent such a promise?"

"I do," I turned to look at Zakuro, who gave me a ring. "With this ring, I thee wed," I spoke out, looking into his eyes. "I promise to cherish thee in sickness and in health. In good times and bad, until death do us part."

"And does this man have a ring for this lady?"

"I do," Masaya spoke out, turning to his best friend and ring bearer, Mark. He looked a little spaced out. "Mark," Masaya hissed at him under his breath, making him jump lightly.

"Oh yeah, ring, ring." He dug in his pockets a moment before realizing that it was in his jacket breast pocket and fished it out of there. Several people sniggered, but I could only smile. It wouldn't be the same without Mark's goofy flare to things. "Here ya go, bud." He handed it to Masaya, who was trying not to faint from panic of the idea of Mark losing his ring.

He turned back to me, and met my eyes. "With this ring, I thee wed..." Slowly I let him slide it over my gloved finger. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered I was supposed to take off my glove before he did it, but I didn't really care at the moment. "I promise to cherish thee in sickness and in health. In good times and bad, until death do us part."

I blushed darkly and beamed up at him, feeling my ears and tail pop out under my veil and dress. I didn't care, no one would be able to see it, and those that knew of it would only smile. "Well?" Keiichiro asked, grinning. "You may kiss the bride of course."

Masaya lifted my veil and then my chin lightly, looking into my eyes. "I love you, Ichigo."

"I love you too, Masaya." I closed my eyes and felt his lips on mine. Several people cheered around us, and I put my hands around his neck, kissing him deeper. Now several people were wooting at us. Pulling back, I laughed happily. "We're _married_!" I screeched out quietly, making him laugh.

"Come on," He took my hand and led me back down the isle, where everyone else was following.

"Throw the bouquet!" Pudding shouted out, as I picked up the flowers.

"Everyone ready!?" I shouted out over the music of the reception. Getting cheers, I turned around, and laughed. "One...two..._three_!" I hurled it over my head backwards and listened to every scream out to try and catch it. Then I heard a familiar male voice.

"What does this mean?" He asked, making me turn around quickly, to see Kish standing in a tuxedo next to Pai and Tart. "Do I win a prize or something?"

Not being able to help it, I laughed out with everyone else. My life was perfect now. I had my friends, my happiness, my family, and soon I would be starting my own. Masaya was about to start his new job as a director and narrator of a series about endangered species and diffent kinds of animals. I was now manager of Ryou's café where all of my friends still worked at, just having fun. It seemed like everything was perfect again.

And I was happy.

A/N: Wow. It's finished. Took me just a little over a month to complete, and spanning 60,000 words, but I did it. I'd like to thank everyone who read this story, and also those who has left reviews for me to encourage me along the way. I'd like to take this time to apologize for days I didn't update, and for the many, _many_ spelling and grammatical errors I made long the way.

My next project will be coming up soon, so be sure to look for it. Once again, thanks for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed this along the way. I hereby dedicate this story to all of you who were with me from the start. Thanks a lot guys.


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